Rise of the Phoenix
by Sinspawn Ammes
Summary: A sudden rise in Lucca's magical prowess leads to an adventure in Zeal Kingdom that threatens to destroy all that she knows and loves. Very dark in later chapters, with lots of gore. Chapter 14 Nov 3rd.
1. Alpha

A brief introduction:

I started this story about a year and a half ago (I think Chapter 1 was released in September 2003, do the math). I moved right after Chapter 4 (this being around November 2003), and stopped updating, until I found my old files in a floppy I had used to transfer my files. Then, unfortunately, and for reasons beyond my understanding, my old account was closed, and all my files were taken off the server. Chapter 1-4 were lost forever, since I lost my floppy, and the old computer on which I had written them was so corrupted that it had to be scrapped. With school starting anew, I didn't have time to continue this, considering how long it takes me to update anyway, so it's been 9 months since the last chapter I wrote (Chap. 15). I am going to actually try to finish this. With that in mind, I'll point out a few extra things:

· Chapters 4-14 were written a while ago, so there may be a lapse in consistency. I'll try to run over them, however

· Please review, it makes me happy! Even if you don't review, I will still try to complete this work of mine, if only for self-gratification.

* * *

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

**Date: 1003 A.D.**

**

* * *

**

The setting sun hung listlessly above the earth, sluggishly falling over the horizon as if it honestly didn't want to leave its children behind. The sun had done this very action for billions of years, but nonetheless it was reluctant, and the sunset lasted over two hours that day.

Lucca grasped the wrench firmly in her hand, fit it to the bolt, and pushed downwards with all her might. The metal squeaked quite audibly, but besides this miniscule sound, the bolt did not budge.

Lucca hadn't changed much over the past few years. At sixteen, she was in the prime years of adolescence; yet, she wasn't any taller, certainly not any stronger, and her hair refused to grow out, no matter how much she willed it to so she could compete with her female peers.. She still invented, though sporadically now, and spent most of her time trying to improve herself. Lucca had never quite imagined that she would be one to care about her appearance; yet, all around her, she saw her friends turning into beautiful young women while she still deceptively looked like a little boy. Marle's hair had a wonderful blond sheen that glowed in the sunlight, complimenting her full breasts, slender figure, modest height, acute facial features, and splendid green eyes; all the boys, and many of the men, in the village fantasized about dating her Majesty Princess Nadia, and all of the boys (and many of the men), envied Crono for his friendship with the Princess. Marle was like a pop star in the cozy little village of Truce, and her status as Crown Princess just meant more fame and idolatry. Crono himself was chased by girls left and right; he had always been particularly lean, but the pudginess that accompanies early adolescence was gone and replaced by hard muscle. Any time he took a swim in a nearby lake, there would be at least thirty girls staring on, giggling incessantly, anxious to catch a glimpse of him naked as he came out of the lake and dressed himself. Yet, Lucca felt none of this. She was ashamed of her short, goofy-looking hair with its strange purple hue; she was ashamed of her bad eyesight that forced her to wear glasses, thick lenses that she had no choice but to wear before her vision was so innately bad. No member of the opposite sex chased her; this one nerdy kid with severe acne asked to see her calculations on a old invention, and she promptly scared the little boy away. Her irascible nature and overpowering ego pushed most people away, and this wasn't helped by her severely lacking physical appearance.

Grabbing the handle with both hands, Lucca bared her teeth, eager to shake those thoughts from her head with physical exertion, tensed her muscles, and forced her whole weight down on the wrench. The bolt screeched and lurched, and the conspicuous sound of a motor starting up confirmed Lucca's success. Relieved, she fell unto her back, and sighed loudly. The sun was almost set now, but the orange hue it exhumed still hung overhead. Lucca's arms were on fire, unaccustomed to such exertion, and they sporadically twitched. She would have fallen asleep if a figure hadn't disturbed the pale orange light striking her face.

Lucca opened her eyes, and was slightly startled at having the blond-haired, teal-eyed Princess of Guardia standing right above her, Marle's hair tied back as she had worn it in the old days, her crossbow latched to her back in the same makeshift leather sling, wearing the same pale blue tunic – washed, ironed, and starched with all the commodities of the throne, of course. Marle was smiling broadly, and held her arm out to hoist Lucca to her feet. Lucca had almost slapped the princess' hand away; Marle looked like a beautiful angel, with the sun at her back and her delicate features accentuated by her simple dress, while Lucca lay there sweating and panting pathetically, her inventor's helmet awkward atop her hair. Yet, the purple-haired girl took her friend's hand and pushed her contempt to the back of her mind.

"Ready to go?" The princess asked. Lucca grinned back and nodded. The motor of the large, winged machine besides her faded, and Lucca kicked it the metal roughly; the machine began whirring again. The two walked towards the Epoch, Lucca hopping into the driver's seat, and Marle sitting besides her. Lucca set the coordinates (not an easy task, considering their destination), and the two waited. In the distance, a boy, moderately tall, with unruly, flaming-red hair and a multi-colored katana on his side jogged towards the Epoch. His eyes kept their green vibrancy, visible even from the Epoch's cockpit, and he donned his green tunic and orange bandana. It was like the old days.

Crono grasped the side of the Epoch, and hoisted himself into the right-most seat. Lucca pressed the necessary buttons, pulled the necessary levels, and found herself thrilled by the whirring of engines under her feet. The large craft rumbled as its engines spewed blue fire behind it, and it slowly lifted off the ground, hung ten, twenty, fifty feet in the air, and sped towards the orange sun.

* * *

**Date:**

**

* * *

**

The End of Time still retained its mysterious, yet alluring, quality. The entire expanse of darkness was lit by a single, bright lamppost in the middle of a granite courtyard; the nine pillars of light that ought to have stood a few miles behind the lamppost were gone, due to Lavos' destruction, and a faint sound of snoring rumbled throughout the darkness. The trio walked towards the courtyard, guided by the faint glow of the tungsten bulb of the lamppost; the Epoch faded as they approached the light, and before long, there was nowhere to go but forward.

Crono, Marle, and Lucca walked into the large courtyard. It remained as it had always been. There was a bucket laying a few meters away, apparently undisturbed since the last time they had seen it; a cluster of stars flittered to their left; and, standing under the lamppost, an old man wearing a hat and holding a wooden cane snored, a massive bubble of snot protruding from his left nostril. Marle giggled at the familiar sight, and Lucca couldn't help but sigh at Gaspar's seemingly eternal grogginess. Crono tapped the man's shoulder, and the bubble popped loudly.

"Oh, what, Mother, I'm still…oh, hello there!" The old man exclaimed. He patted Crono on the head, and yawned loudly. "I haven't seen you folks since yesterday. Where have you been. How was your fight with Lavos?" Lucca pushed her glasses further up her nose. This would be her perfect chance to flaunt their achievements. She hadn't been able to inflate her ego for a long time.

"We pounded that oversized porcupine into the ground three years go!" Lucca exclaimed, punching one hand with the other for effect. "You should have heard it squeal as I stomped it into the ground. It was such child's play, Lavos was really overdramatized for no reason." She left out the fact that she had almost been killed, smashed by a giant moon, had Crono not shattered it. She left out the fact that her gun ran out of ammunition, her magical reserves were vastly inferior to those of Crono or Marle, and their entire party was desperately trying to keep her, Lucca, from being mutilated by Lavos' spines.

Marle furrowed her brown ever so innocuously, but Lucca noticed and frowned herself. Crono glanced at the two girls and lowered his eyes, perfectly aware of what had produced this silence.

"So, what are you folks here for, if not for Lavos?" Gaspar asked curiously, anxious to break the awkward silence. Lucca grinned again and pushed her glasses up her nose, more out of desire to dramatize her next sentence than out of necessity.

"We're here to see Spekkio!"

* * *

**Date:**

**

* * *

**

Spekkio's modest, square courtyard was no different than it had always been. Time seemed frozen in this place; even the pallid wind blowing near the lamppost was absent. There was some light, with no apparent source, glowing near the center of the stone courtyard; besides this, the arena was pitch black.

Yet, at the center of the square court, was a small white figure. It stood no more than three feet tall, but spontaneously paced, shuffled its stubby feet, or otherwise jostled to keep itself busy.

Crono, Marle, and Lucca moved toward the white figure. Its ears twitched as their heavy footsteps echoed in the empty court, and the small, monkey-like creature turned around slowly. A smile graced its lips.

"Welcome, welcome, long time no see!" Spekkio said in his characteristically high-pitched squeal. It had always been dreadfully ironic that the "Master of War" was about the size of the average human baby (and about two times fatter than one), and though he could change forms, Spekkio had always liked the appearance of the furry white creature the most. The three teenagers greeted him with smiles, but also with lingering anticipation and anxiety.

"What brings you here?" Spekkio asked. Lucca answered, slightly sardonic.

"What else?" She said. Spekkio grinned and motioned them to one side of the arena. Holding out a stubby finger, he pointed to Crono and directed him to the center of the courtyard.

The trio of Crono, Marle, and Lucca had found themselves rather bored with the trivialities of daily, and had therefore agreed to fight with Spekkio in his dimly-litted arena. Lucca had proposed the idea, and had pushed it when the others seemed reluctant. She even went as far as to repair the Epoch, a dauntingly exhaustive task, considering the machine had not been used in nearly three years, and the closing of the gates meant time travel in general was much more difficult. Lucca was not sure what made her so excited to see Spekkio. She hadn't used her magic in years, and as a result felt a growing desire to do so.

"One at a time now!" Spekkio squealed, the glee apparent in both his countenance and voice. Apparently the Master of War was glad to have some company every so often.

Lights suddenly flooded the room, and everything became as clear as day; the brass palisade surrounding the courtyard, shaping it into a square; and the two figures standing in the middle of the arena. Crono drew his katana instinctively, but sheathed it when he remembers that physical weapons were useless against Spekkio: it wasn't that he couldn't be hit, but that he never allowed anyone to do so. He would either dodge the blow quite effortlessly, or the attack would go astray by itself (Crono suspected it to be the work of a devious magical shield). Marle and Lucca sat together in one corner of the room, and waited in anticipation.

"I haven't seen Crono fight in a long time." Marle remarked. Lucca nodded inattentively, and suddenly slapped her forehead.

"What are they doing just staring at each other? Jeez, I wanna fight…" Lucca muttered in frustration. Marle chuckled at her friend's antics, but quickly turned her focus back to the center of the arena. Spekkio had his stubby fingers help up in the air, and the tips started shimmering strongly. Marle had used this spell often enough to know what it was.

Crono ran towards one of the brass palisades, jumped on the top of one of them, and jumped unnaturally far into the air. Lucca's eyes opened wide at Crono's acrobatics, and grew even wider when a giant sheet of ice came from nowhere and almost crushed the boy. Crono had apparently seen it coming, and had leapt unto the hoarfrost sheet, tensing his legs and jumping unto another incoming iceberg.

"He is a god…" Marle whispered, amazed. Lucca grinned and looked on. _Wait till you see me._

With surprising dexterity, Crono ran the length of the ice, glowing faintly white, and leapt into the air, just above Spekkio, while the sheets of ice crashed unto the marble floor and disappeared just as quickly as they had come. Seconds before landing on top of the small, furry, squirrel-like Master of War, Crono spread his arms outwards powerfully, and lightning exploded from his glowing body, spreading outwards like an explosion, engulfing a large part of the room. When the white light had subsided, Spekkio lay on his back, flailing his arms around like a turtle knocked over unto its shell. Crono smiled, sweating profusely, and fell unto his back on the floor.

"Well, kid, you're still as sharp as ever! Don't get me with one of those again, or I might lose my head!" Spekkio remarked. Getting up quickly, he slapped Crono on the back and led him to where the girls were sitting. Lucca was ready to get up, anxious to duel the legendary Master of War, but it seemed Marle had already beaten her to it.

The princess put on what Lucca called her "game face"; that is, an innocuous frown made only threatening by the Valkyrie crossbow Marle regularly carried at her side. The weapon hung from that same strap, but there would be no point in using it.

"So, kiddo, found you a husband yet?" Spekkio chimed tauntingly. Marle blushed and gave Crono a sideward glance; Lucca saw this and felt angered for a reason she didn't quite understand.

"No, not really." Marle answered simply. Spekkio laughed.

"I bet the boys are knocking at your door every day, huh?" The Master of War added, his fingers tinkling. Marle smiled and glowed faintly herself. Lucca scowled.

A flurry of flames tore towards Marle, billowing out from Spekkio's outstretched hand much in the manner of a flamethrower. With intense speed, Marle removed the Valkyrie from its holster, and gripped it firmly. The bolt notched inside the weapon froze almost instantly, and fired from the crossbow, whizzing past the slow flames of the most basic fire spell. Spekkio emitted an odd snort that hinted surprise, and prepared to dodge the frozen bolt in the same effortless way he dodged all physical attacks. The bolt exploded right in front of him before he could do so, however, and his vision was blurred just enough for Marle to conjure a subterreanean trail of ice that lurched under Spekkio's stubby pink feet and froze him in place.

"You're lucky I can't move, or I would walk over there and beat you down myself!" Spekkio shouted with a scream. Marle giggled and replaced her crossbow on its strap. Lucca noticed the burn marks on the Princess' arms and the burn fabric on her torso that revealed a good part of her stomach and waist. It seems Marle had allowed the fire to strike her directly so she could release a second spell fast enough and catch Spekkio. The princess' hand shone a pale green color, and when she touched it to her chest, the burn marks slowly receded and ceased to exist. Only the burnt cloth was evidence of any injury.

"Next!" Spekkio shouted as he unfroze his short legs. Lucca smirked and got to her feet. The excitement was enough to knock her out.

"Well, ready to get this show on the road?" Lucca said, her ordinarily purple eyes burning crimson already.

"Well well, aren't we hasty?" Spekkio said, laughing in an extremely high-pitched giggle. Lucca grinned, and fired a ball of fire towards the Master of War.

Spekkio countered with a ball of ice, and the resulting antipode sent wind all across the room. Lucca began blasting a flurry of spells, mostly Fire and Fire 2, in rapid succession. She even went as far as to chuck a number of grenades at Spekkio, the bomb ineffective because of Spekkio's apparent immunity to physical weapons.

"Going a bit overboard, aren't you?" Spekkio shouted. Lucca frowned in disdain. She was particularly vexed that none of her attacks were succeeding, and she would regret her next sentence.

"Give me all you got, shrimp." Lucca shouted back. Spekkio didn't laugh this time, and frowned instead. He shrugged and stared at Lucca from across the room.

"As long as you're ready for it." The Master of War answered.

Lucca felt the change almost instantly. The light that flooded the room slowly began to disappear, but the room remained visible nonetheless. It was the kind of visibility that came from darkness; the kind of light that only a moonless night could emit. The wind that used to sporadically whip across the room disappeared, replaced only by a myriad of stars on the space directly above the courtyard. Lucca had seen this at least two times, and she had not stayed conscious very long afterwards; it was Dark Matter, and it was terrifying, not because it was powerful, but because it embodied eternal darkness.

Lucca did the only thing she thought to do. Gathering all her strength, she propelled a massive jet of fire upwards, screamed out the word 'Flare', and triggered a massive explosion adjacent to the growing darkness; but as is the nature of Dark Matter, the fire was simply absorbed, and the darkness expanded. The center of the growing expanse shimmered as if on the point of detonation, and Lucca stared wide-eyed in terror. She willed herself to move, but her legs refused to respond.

"Lucca! A barrier! Use a barrier!" The princess' voice registered faintly, and Lucca only stood there, staring at the growing void. It exploded, and black wind filled the room, burning Lucca with more spite than a fire ever had, and she saw no more.

There you have it, Chapter 1. This one was actually much longer than my original Chap. 1 (which was only about 600 words).

Read and review, please. Also, note that Chapters 1, 2, and 3 will be released with 4-6 day delays in-between, but I'll post chapters 4-14 almost at once. Thanks for reading.


	2. Hubris

Finally mustered the will to start Chap. 2. By the way, if this seems a bit rushed, it is, because I want to get to the later chapters soon. Remember, 4-14 are already all written. Thanks for showing me the mistakes, Zipis.

* * *

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

**Date: 1003 A.D.  
**

The midday sun shone brightly in her eyes, and disturbed her dreams, despite the fact that she was having none, and her head hurt so painfully. The distant chirp of birds, probably a few canaries, however faint, only added to the headache, and the painful feeling in her shoulder did nothing to ameliorate the situation.

Lucca felt a body stir next to her, and a chair slide into position beside her. Turning her head sluggishly, and opening her eyes with even less fervor, she saw Marle's hand shine green and press against her shoulder. The numbing pain subsided.

"Are you feeling better?" The princess asked, the sickly green glow of her hand contrasting with her vibrant jade eyes. Lucca groaned in anguish and coughed weakly; she nodded her head, but the involuntary convulsions of her body to the pain destroyed her lie.

Glancing around the room, Lucca recognized the grandiose, though bare, interior of the infirmary in Guardia Castle. The marble walls were pristine but uncharacteristically devoid of adornments; every other room in the massive fortress had breastplates, shields, or portraits hanging from every available inch of wall space. The idea was that clutter slowed the healing process; Lucca wished these decorations were there, so the room would remind her less of a nurse's office, and would make her seem less like a brash toddler who just skinned his knees.

"That spell takes a lot out of people. You should have used a barrier like I told you." Marle said matter-of-factly, unrolling a bundle of cloth that would serve to placate the mild dislocation in Lucca's shoulder. The purple-haired girl frowned and jerked her shoulder away.

"You weren't on the other end of the most powerful spell in history. You have no right to talk, so don't." Lucca spat, more spitefully than she expected. She was fully aware of how childish the statement was, and how it didn't exonerate her from her carelessness, but she felt a need to argue nonetheless.

"I've been victim to that several times, and I've always used a barrier. It's almost common sense," Marle answered, mildly defensive. Lucca looked away in scorn as the Princess bandaged her, but could still see the princess through a mirror at the far side of the room. Marle's hair was raised in an elegant bun atop her hair, and she wore a golden necklace with the seal of Guardia engraved on the sapphire at the end of it. Meanwhile, Lucca lay in bed with a hospital sheet hiding her tattered tunic.

"I don't appreciate your elitism. Spekkio used the easiest spell in the book for a reason, you know." Lucca spat harshly. She saw Marle's expression fill with sadness, and the Princess left without a word when Lucca's bandage was well secured.

* * *

**Date: 1003 A.D.**

Lucca was glad Marle had done such a good job of nursing her back to health. She had been out cold for about a day and a half, waking up sporadically just to realize how much pain she was in, only to fall back asleep; yet, she felt fine now.

Pacing through the castle courtyard, the purple-haired girl comtemplated her next course of action. Regardless of how much she convinced herself that Marle had gotten it easier, Spekkio had still wiped her out in a single spell, and a spell that could have been weathered with a barrier and the appropriate potion. It was evident to Lucca that she was quickly losing her "touch", if one may call it that, and was falling behind both in fame, appearance, and combat ability; and she would be damned if she would let that spoilt princess hog all the glory.

Lucca cackled and reveled in her genius. She had something to prove to herself first and foremost, if only to boost her confidence; yet, the plan she concocted for that purpose seemed so challenging that success could only feed her insatiable egomania.

"I need my gun…"

* * *

It was dark now, on the very same day. After having quickly returned to the castle to grab her Wondershot, Lucca quickly headed to the castle's archery range (which had been temporarily used as a landing place for the Epoch because of Lucca's condition), and boarded the craft. It felt awkward to enter the craft in near pitch darkness, guided only by a crescent moon which exhumed little to no light, and in the absence of her companions. Yet, Lucca sensed an unbelievable amount of exhilaration at her destination, and typed in the coordinates as she had done so many times.

* * *

Date: 6,000,000 BC 

The beauty of this primitive Earth struck Lucca, as it had always done before. The jagged geometry of the Prehistoric mountains, still unscathed by time and her relentless chisel, the random volcanic explosion that filled the air with both sulfur and pandemonium; it was a crazed inventor's dream world, and Lucca fit that profile perfectly.

There would be plenty of time for sightseeing, however, for Lucca had a more urgent place to be. All she needed now was an isolated island, some remote speck of land among the immeasurable seas that would provide both the privacy she desired and would leave no evidence of her coming. She found such a location quickly.

The small island was covered with plant life, abundant and unrestrained, so much so that only the sandy beach was cleared. Lucca's intention was simple: to find a few creatures, preferably some dinosaurs, for those were to most challenging. And most importantly, she wished to test her mettle. She had no doubt that she would easily crush any critters that she could find, but the feeling of frying something that can be considered a challenge was good enough.

Hopping out of the Epoch, Lucca placed about five bullets into her Wondershot, placed the weapon in its holster, and ventured into the forest.

* * *

The greenery was stunning from outside, but blocked out so much of the sun that its interior was dismal and frightening. These were random lizards of the kind she had never seem before roaming freely; massive insects flew by her eyes, some the size of scorpions, but they apparently, and thankfully, did not like the taste of human flesh. 

Venturing deeper into the overgrowth, Lucca began to see even more spectacular creatures. There were giant trees that tried to eat animals as large as rabbits, and eat them in a literal sense, with gnashing teeth of bark and enzymes oozing from their "mouths", as strong as acid.

Lucca was too involved in her stupefaction to notice her predator in the shadows. Out of nowhere, a slender reptile, with an elongated tail that made its total length close to nine or ten feet, left out from behind a bush and tried to tackle Lucca into a large stone, but the girl spun out of the way, and planted a bullet in the creature's head, bursting the cranium and splattering blood over the medley of flora and fauna. A second, third dinosaur of this type arose from the darkness, their eyes gleaming with hunger, and dashed toward Lucca at ridiculous speeds. One of them leapt unto a branch and came at Lucca from the top while the other raced at her from the side.

Finding herself outmatched and unable to use magic for fear of setting the entire island on fire and therefore trapping herself inside the forest, Lucca began dashing towards the beach. The velociraptors pursued with ardor beyond belief, with more joining their ranks; one of the dinosaurs was even trapped by a giant "fly-trap", if one may call it so, and devoured. This did not deter them.

Before long, Lucca found herself at the beach, but nonetheless being chased by over a dozen of these creatures. Finding herself out of breath, her pace slowed, and she was almost ripped apart when one of the reptiles barely missed her ankle and an opportunity to take her down. With their speed, she wasn't sure why they had been unable to catch up to her, but it seemed their otherwise incomparable speed was reduced by their sheer numbers. Without fear of causing an uncontrollable forest fire, Lucca turned around briefly and flung a ball of fire at one of the raptors, grilling it and leaving it twitching upon the sandy floor. Another reptile fell with a bullet in its forehead, creating a pallete of red on the otherwise sparkling white beach. Yet, it seemed, no matter how many of these reptiles was felled by either magic or bullet, they relentlessly chased Lucca. The Epoch was so close, and Lucca was sure she would make it, until she pointed her Wondershot to a raptor and felt the familiar click of an empty gun.

"What the hell…" Lucca thought, panting and on the verge of collapse. The only thing that kept her going was the necessity of self-preservation.

A raptor leapt into the air with all of its strength, and tackled Lucca from behind. It bit randomly, trying to harm its victim in anyway rather than incapacitate it, and more reptiles joined, intent on a feast. Most of them injured their teeth against the chainmail beneath Lucca's tunic, but one managed to rip off the armor and sink its teeth into Lucca's struggling form, leaving a massive, bleeding gash on her torso, just below her collarbone but above her breast. The girl screamed in pain, and was able to escape the gnashing teeth of the voracious reptiles only through a powerful but badly calculated fire spell.

Lucca crawled pathetically away from the animals, her eyes livid with terror, the blood running from her wound despite the hand that pressed against it. Yet, for no apparent reason, the reptiles did not give chase, even as their prey limped towards the Epoch, her only method of escape.

Heavy footsteps rumbled throughout the island, and a massive dinosaur, nearly 30 feet in height, appeared from the lush forest. The smaller creatures dispersed immediately, in the manner ants do when hot water is poured on them.

Lucca's eyes widened. It was just like her to let her pride harm her so; what possibly could have made her think that landing on a remote island, completely isolated and miles away from the closest village, was a good idea, especially when she was alone? And now, she felt her chances of survival dwindle. The pain in her shoulder was unbearable, so much so that she could barely concentrate enough to cast a spell. Her gun had no bullets remaining, and she was too exhausted and terrified to reload the weapon.

The massive reptile crept closer, roaring loadly; Lucca was unsure whether it was from primal instinct, or from glee for having scored a free meal. Lucca backed away from the animal futily, and felt the metal wing on the Epoch strike her elbow. She had no room to run now, with the sea at her back, and she was certainly too hurt to climb into the machine's cockpit now.

The Tyranosaurus Rex inched closer to her, its footsteps coinciding with Lucca's beating heart. It was just a few yards now, and survival instincts had slowly overtaken Lucca's fear. The girl held her bloodstained hands forward, whispering lightly in the wind, and closed her eyes, waiting for death.

* * *

Chapter 2 finished. I feel that this chapter was a bit rushed, but I unfortunately want to head to the later chapters quickly. I hope this didn't detract from the story too much. If there's something confusing you, feel free to leave it in the reviews. 


	3. Préambulum

Alright, Chapter 3. A lot of important stuff happens in this chapter, and I'll try not to rush it as much as the last one. Thanks for the helpful reviews, zipis and the rest of you, and semicolons are my friend. I only use periods when it is vital to end the sentence.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

* * *

Date: 12000 BC

* * *

Time flew before her eyes like a flock of birds in migration. She saw and heard nothing, but only felt an implosion inside of her, as if her very being was being tossed around, churned, mortared in an old woman's kitchen. Her muscles quaked, her eyes diluted, her skin desired to fly off in all directions; yet, she felt none of this directly, and only envisioned a bright red light in the shape of a bird…what species or genus it was, she could not deduct, for her soul saw this mighty creature and not her eyes, yet as the sight of this majestic being grew stronger upon her essence, the strain on her body grew ever stronger, until she could feel her pulse racing uncontrollably, and her palms burning. The pain grew stronger and stronger, encompassing her completely and overshadowing all other sense, but the apparition of that flaming red bird gave her solace, for reasons unknown. It licked her skin delicately like an evening breeze, caressed her cheek, comforted her suffering spirit. The unbearable pain would not cease to grow, but yet this bird only came closer, and she knew instantly that were it not for this creature, she would have exploded, spontaneously combusted, her ashes spread about for miles, acres, her very existence made null. Yet she persisted, and reached her arm out, with whatever might remained within her battered frame; the birds feathers tickled her arm. It burned her, yet she felt nothing and relished in the charring skin; she placed her hand on its forehead, drawing a majestic crow from it, and in an instant, the pain ceased.

The dinosaur's head lay charred upon the bloodstained beach. Its body lay in pieces, scattered about the surroundings, and its bone had been heated so much that parts of the eye sockets were melted off. The sky was dark and somber, as if harbringing a strong rain, but no precious drops fell; all that was visible was a spiraling crimson pillar, miles in height and diameter, reaching into the heavens and above. The dark clouds begrudgingly parted as the pillar mounted, its searing red flames spiraling ever upwards.

Lucca saw all of this, and seemed not to feel the blood that spilled uncontrollably from her shoulder or the atrocious pain in her limbs. She could barely blink, let alone walk; her body was battered by some unknown force, so much so that life seemed to slip away gradually. With what remaining strength she had, Lucca heaved herself unto Epoch's left wing, and somehow slumped over the cockpit, lost her balance, and fell inside. She had not moved of her own will that time, and would not for what seemed like an eternity.

* * *

Date: 1003 AD

* * *

The sun beat down on her face, again, and those same damn canaries twittered, again. The first time, it was relaxing, a numbing melody that offset her pounding headache, but now, it was infuriating. It angered her not because the sound was unpleasant, but because she was experiencing the same circumstance that braced her not too long ago.

Lucca wasn't sure why or how she came here, but she was perfectly certain of where she was. Her eyes crept open and beheld the same bare stone wall of the Guardia infirmary, the same large window, the same massive mirror at one end of the room, and the same pale green glow in the corner of her eyes.

Turning her head, she saw Princess Nadia, with a large sheet of gauze, salt, and an iron that was not yet heated. Marle tersely looked on at Lucca's injuries, the various bruises along her arms and legs, the bite and scratch marks, and most significant, the giant chomp mark that bled profusely and threatened to fester.

Lucca glanced apologetically at her companion. This was the second time Marle tended to her and did such a good job of it, and Lucca had insulted her spitefully last time. The purple-haired girl had been consistently growing more contemptful of the princess as of recent days, and the dreary silence that encompassed this moment only reaffirmed this.

Lucca gritted her teeth and winced as Marle rubbed salt on the large gash. The pain was excruciating, and made more so by Marle's roughness. Ripping off the scab that had already formed over the wound somehow, the princess pressed down on the injury, and applied healing magic to it. Through all this, Lucca struggled to stop herself from screaming at the pain.

"Why do you do things like that?" Marle chided, her voice flat and emotionless. It was the way she spoke when angered by something. Lucca lay silent, only shuddering lightly from the salt in her shoulder. "The Epoch brought you back her and showed me your last destination. What are you trying to prove?"

Lucca panted with exhaustion, coughed a few times, but said nothing. Marle glanced back at her work, and applied an ointment to the now sealed cut. The wound sizzled slightly, and the blood stopped flowing from the gash on Lucca's shoulder; the purple-haired girl was unbelievably happy that the iron wasn't used.

"You've lost about two men worth of blood. I'm still wondering how you are still alive." Marle said, her voice rising a good fifth in aggravation. Lucca glanced at her meekly, like a child who disappointed his mother.

"I'm sorry…and what I said yesterday-" Lucca muttered weakly, until Marle shushed her and smiled slightly.

"It's alright. Don't speak, and gather your strength. You're gonna be bedridden for about two weeks, if you're lucky." Marle said, gathering up her supplies and bringing Lucca a tray of food. There was one large potato, some freshly squeezed orange juice, a bowl of beans, and a steak. "Eat up, so you can replenish your blood."

* * *

It was an late spring morning identical to the last two. The canaries kept creating their racket, and the sun washed the room with ambient rays. Lucca's eyes fluttered open, and she swung her legs to the side and paced to the window. The canaries made their nest on a tree not far from the window, and the girl made a mental note to move the nest elsewhere; the tweeting was quickly becoming unbearable, and any melody becomes aggravating if one hears it so often in such rapid succession.

"I'm hungry…" Lucca muttered, stepping out of the infirmary in her billowing white robe. She almost sleepwalked towards the kitchen, hoping to catch a quick breakfast. However, the mess hall was in the basement, and the imperial kitchen (yes, there was an imperial kitchen) was at the other end of the castle, so the trek would take a good fifteen minutes at least. An armored guard passed her and stared on in amazement. Lucca gave him a puzzled glance, and was even more confused when her nurse, Marie, walked by and stared at her wide-eyed.

"Mistress Lucca, what are you doing up?" She shrieked. Lucca winced at the yelling, and was unsure of what provoked it. Lucca scratched her head, and felt a lot more hair run through her hands than usual.

"I was going to get some food." She muttered. Staring across the hall, she noticed a grandfather clock reading about 11 A.M, but interestingly enough, she could tell that the precise time was 10:57, despite her being a good 20 feet from the clock.

"How did you even get out of bed? You shouldn't be able to move for at least a week! Get back in there!" Marie exclaimed, hysterically in Lucca's opinion. The woman forced Lucca into bed, and asked the guard outside the door to call Princess Nadia.

"I'm fine, just get me some food!" Lucca whined, sitting unto the bed in the infirmary and pouting conspicuously. Marie attempted to force Lucca to lie down, but the girl found no need to do so, and acted the role of the stubborn and brash teenager in her protests.

Lucca got up quickly and started darting around the room, intent on evading the nurse's grasp, and was deeply amused by the petty game of cat and mouse that resulted. Marie, despite her nearly forty years of age, was extremely resilient, and had always been well-built, having been on the track team in high school and keeping the habit of running five miles a day. Yet, Lucca evaded her with uncharacteristic grace and agility. The apex of their trivial chase came when Marie dove forward to give Lucca a bear hug and force her into bed, and the girl actually _dove_ out of a window to evade her pursuer.

"Oh my God! Lucca!" Marie shrieked. Looking out the window and downwards, she saw Lucca sitting on a branch, with a nest of canaries right next to her. From that angle, the change in the girl was apparent and extraordinary. Her robe was disheveled from the acrobatics, and the location of her massive injury was exposed. Yet, there was only a light discoloration of the skin where the wound had been, and the skin looked firm and healthy, without a blemish in sight. Lucca's hair had thickened almost overnight and was more lustrous, reaching her shoulders in the space of a few hours. Her skin was not pale as it should have been given her condition, and shone brightly instead in the midday sun. A common person would have not imagined that a giant reptile had chomped this girl a few days before.

"Lucca! What the hell!" Marle shouted from the window. The princess had just appeared in the window, but hastily bolted into the infirmary, and returned with a thick rope, bristling with loose fibers but very strong from sheer sturdiness. Marle lowered the rope, assisted of course by a few guards, until the cord was just eye-level with Lucca.

"Climb up!" One of the guards hollered in a deep, sultry voice that seemed the result of his ostentatious and uncomfortable armor. Lucca eyed the rope curiously, entirely beside herself, and Marie was almost positive that the girl was delirious.

"I'm feeling better now, Marle. Thanks for the help!" Lucca exclaimed cheerfully, before she left off the branch and into the dense forest of Guardia.

Lucca ran through the forest at blazing speeds. She had never been one to display athletic prowess; after all, her natural gift, and innate obsession, had always been machinery and science, and such pursuits left no room for exercise. Besides, she had always been a miserable failure at all activities requiring physical exertion; she was always last in the one-mile run activity in her intermediate school, and had never been able to do more than one push-up, whether it be the simplified or more challenging version.

Yet, now, she tore through the forest, leaping over fallen trunks, swinging on low-lying branches, relishing in the feeling of her calves twitching at their sudden strength and endurance. It was the most thrilling sensation she had had in months; she was enveloped by the arboreal surroundings, and though they blurred past her eyes in her haste, it was enthralling nonetheless. The sweet smell of leaves, the nipping on some random insect buzzing to her side, the sensation of her leg tearing through an idle strand of spider web; never had Lucca felt such rapture at these wonderful beings that surrounded her in her sprint. At one occasion, she stopped to catch her breath near an azure stream and slowly drank its cool water, sighing gleefully at its vibrant taste. She was overwhelmingly elated, and her spirit fleeted inside of her; it was like experiencing a dream, in which one is placed in a situation unbeknownst to them but excel at it nonetheless, whether it be by intuition, luck, or a hidden talent. Yet, this current feeling was even more dreamlike in that Lucca's muscles demanded to be exerted more. She had an excess of energy, of the kind young children get after having one too many pieces of candy, but no matter how fast she ran, or how much the sun beat upon her bare back, clothed only by a thin hospital robe, she was never exhausted. Her body persisted from some indescribable well of stamina that seemed endless, but she paid no notice and grinned at the warm sun.

Lucca left the forest in little under an hour, running constantly (a remarkable feat, considering the part of the forest from which she began her sprint was nearly 12 miles long). A few random villagers stared at her oddly: here, some girl in a hospital robe was bolting through the market at a speed uncharacteristic of one with her build and appearance. She paid them no mind, and headed instead to her house, not for any particular reason, but because her legs carried her southward in her home's direction. The wind blew once more unrestrained against her face, yet her speed only increased, and her rapture only grew at this feeling of exertion. Her house was a few yards away, and an impressive acrobatics display, she leapt unto the roof of the small terrace behind her house, and propelled herself unto the balcony of her second-story bedroom, flying through the wooden shutters, breaking them off their hinges, and landing gracefully on her feet.

"That was amazing…" Lucca whispered incredulously. She was exhausted, yet strangely refreshed, as if dipped in warm healing springs, if only those existed. She had just covered a distance of over 20 miles in less than an hour, yet felt no repercussions; there was no instinct to collapse from overexertion or pain, and her legs nagged her to run some more. Heavy footsteps could be heard down bolting up the stairs, and she recognized it immediately as those of her mother when she was in a panic. Lucca dove under her covered to hide her hospital robe; this action wouldn't have made much of a difference either way, since her mother knew full well Lucca had been hospitalized twice in less that a week!

"Who's here?" Lara screamed, flinging the door open. Lucca lay on her bed, raising her covers as if to hide her torso, and looked sheepishly onward. Her mother stared, astonished, and gathered the breath to scream for her husband. Before the words left her mouth, Lara felt a hand clap over her mouth, and Lucca standing behind her, whispering into her ear.

"Mother! Don't tell him, he'll worry himself." Lucca muttered, slightly irritated but with the undying playfulness that had gripped her in the hospital.

"Lucca, what about your injury? How…why…the infirmary…" Lara stammered, unable to gather her thoughts. She had practically gotten a heart attack from finding out that her daughter, her only offspring, was on the verge of death the day before, and here that very daughter stood behind her imploring her to keep a secret. It was mind-boggling.

"Don't worry, I'm fine!" Lucca said. She ran to her closet with unnecessary speed, since it was so close anyway, and threw a tunic over her hospital gown. She was working on finding some pants when her father walked through the doorway with a crowbar in his hand.

"Lucca!" Taban screamed, his voice over an octave higher that its usual sonorous tenor. The following was an awkward moment: a mother glancing back and forth between her husband and daughter, a father staring awestruck as his previously hospitalized daughter, and a teenage girl struggling to put her pants on.

Lucca grinned childishly, pulled on a pair of home-sewn pajama pants that fit her perfectly a few nights before, but now came well above her ankles. She grabbed a pair of spare spectacles from her bedside table and put them on; her view of her awestruck father became blurry.

"How…did…when…" Taban muttered uncertainly. Lucca fumbled with her glasses, trying to figure out why her vision got worse when she put them on. Were it not for Lara's wise motherly interference, this awkward moment would have persisted.

"Well, let's have lunch! Taban, we'll figure this all out later. Come down, Lucca dear, I'm sure you're starving!" Lara said jovially. Taban glanced inquisitively at his wife, still confused.

The family started down the stairs, not saying a word due to the recent perplexing events. Lucca had resigned to leave her glasses behind and stalked behind her parents, who put on sternly befuddled faces; the trio walked inside the kitchen, and the warm aroma of Lara's lunch quickly overshadowed the incomprehensible circumstances.

"Oh, by the way, Taban, can you take a look at the sink pipe? I think it jammed up, but I can't quite loosen the bolt." Lara said while she bustled around the kitchen, gathering plates and setting them on the table. Lucca brought out cutlery and a few cups, setting them on the oaken round table in the shape of an inscribed triangle.

"Of course, dear." Taban said. He went under the sink, tried twisting the bolt with his fingers, and failed miserably; using a wrench did not help the crisis.

"Looks like I might have to call the plumber. I'll do it first thing after lunch." Taban said. By then, Lucca was standing behind her father, watching his work. In the way most people pitch in to try to resolve a petty problem, Lucca tried her hand at loosening the bolt. Lara and Taban paid this no mind, for they were sure their daughter was incapable of such an action. They were proven wrong, however, when an excruciatingly loud screeching sound resonated in the kitchen, and Lucca stared, aghast, and the large chunk of pipe lying in her hand that she had _ripped out_ from under the sink. Lunch was not served that day.

* * *

Lucca sat on a side of the fountain in the middle of Leene Square, and was relieved when Crono and Marle came rushing past. They had just heard from a guard that Lucca needed them immediately, and that the trio should gather in Leene Square at once, and that the matter was an emergency. Not surprisingly, the two sped with all their might towards the square.

"What's going on?" Marle said anxiously, wringing her hands together. Crono's countenance held the same concern. Lucca had fled the hospital, and this was the first they had heard of her for several hours. Whatever searching parties had been send out always returned with negative reports.

"There's something wrong with me…" Lucca muttered, staring into her reflection in the water. Her hair was significantly longer, just above her shoulders now; her eyes shown brightly and clearly, and she could see for miles even without her glasses; and most significantly, she showed physical strength and dexterity unseen in most humans in general, let alone sixteen year old girls! This realization disturbed her greatly, and the medley of odd occurrences terrified her slightly. After all, she had just ripped out her kitchen sink, without even exerting herself.

"What do you mean? You're fine, there's nothing wrong!" Marle declared, walking up to Lucca and placing a hand on her shoulder. A sudden hatred surged to Lucca's consciousness: she had an incomprehensible urge to slap Marle's hand off, though she did not know why, and dismissed the thought quickly. Had she not been so preoccupied by the recent events, she would have put on the patronizing look she was so famous for in the village, and set herself at odds with her friends. Lucca shrugged lightly, pushing her hand off her shoulder.

With a laborious groan and apparent physiological exhaustion, Lucca hoisted herself off the fountain step and stood up, looking directly at Marle. The princess was taken aback; for one, Lucca had somehow become taller than her. The inventor's hair was thick and disheveled, her shoulders broader, her face more angular. Most terrifying, however, were Lucca's eyes; they sporadically flashed red, then returned to their purple hue, and held a mixture of anger, confusion, resentment, and some other emotion the princess could not make out. The two girls looked at each other for a few moments longer, Lucca staring dead ahead, slowly growing angrier despite her relatively placid and composed expression; Marle, on the other hand, was baffled, and took a few steps back. There had been a definite change in the person standing before her, but what startled the princess so much was the fact that she couldn't place it. Lucca had always been an excessively emotional person: when she was angry, she made her rage felt; when she was glad, she rejoiced; when she was morose, she expressed her sadness however she could. But now, Lucca stared at the princess, utterly stoic, her eyes holding some unquenched fire; Lucca's figure looked so much more imposing because of this expression.

Crono saw this entire scene, and did not move. He had never seen this side of Lucca either. The hyperactive inventor he had known for over a dozen years seemed a stranger to him, the way her eyes turned fierce as they beheld Princess Nadia at that moment, the way her hands subconsciously formed a fist and shook. Crono was well aware that the two girls had always had a moderately strained relationship: Lucca was easily vexed, and Marle was mercurial and indecisive, so the girls frequently got in petty arguments. Lately, however, Lucca slowly antagonized Marle more than often, and with more fervor; Crono had always suspected that it was simply female hormones running wild, but lately, he felt he had something, however minute, to do with the silent rivalry between the two girls.

Lucca calmly turned and faced the fountain. She held a long, slim hand towards the fountain, and pointed at the large marble fountainhead, the serene sculpture of Queen Leene, standing majestically over the large plaza dedicated to her. She wore the coral pin so closely associated with her, and held a large vase, pouring water into the pool in which she stood. Lucca pointed at this woman's statue, her countenance devoid of emotion, and conjured a small, tennis-ball size sphere of fire off the tip of her index finger. She winced painfully, her hand shaking, as if she struggled to keep the ball at bay, struggled to stop it from growing out of proportion. Marle stared incredulously at the purple-haired girl, pointing powerfully at the statue of Marle's ancestor, and wondered what she hoped to do with such a small ball. Was this what was wrong? Did Lucca have trouble molding her mana and expulsing it? Had whatever inner spring she drew her strength from run dry? It would explain the awkward stare Lucca had just given her: perhaps the inventor was just stressed, perhaps a bit embarrassed, as to her magical powers malfunctioning, and was angered when Marle insistently asked what the problem was. Or maybe, the problem was that-

Time seemed to freeze. The small ball left Lucca's fingertip and raced towards the statue, but for some odd reason, Marle felt impending doom racing in that small ball. It sunk into the fountain head, and in an instant that seemed to linger forever, a faint red light erupted from Queen Leene's eye, and her head exploded, scattering marble in all directions; a shard of marble flew past Marle's cheek, and the Princess only realized what had just happened when a droplet of blood fell on her shoulder.

* * *

I'll end Chapter 3 here. There was supposed to be more to this chapter, but I think it would fit more in chapter 4, which is coming soon! Sorry for taking so long for this chapter, but I forgot what had happened, and had to redo parts of this section of the story! Also, I don't think there's a statue of Queen Leene on that fountain in Leene Square, but let's assume there is, if there in fact isn't. 


	4. Landfall

R&R! By the way, Lucca goes back before Lavos destroys Zeal, in case anyone is wondering.

7/6/05 – I reread over this, added a few things that were left out, and edited certain parts for consistency. It might sound slightly different from how you remembered it. Sorry about the long delay, but I've had a lot to do this summer. I was thinking of adding another dynamic to this story, but it might be out of place/too extensive, so never mind.

The transition part may seem a bit rushed, but that's because I'm trying to catch up on the story as fast as possible. I had a lot of extra ideas for this story, but I think I'll include those as standalones (including a possible lesbian escapade (XD) ). Again, please read and review; it encourages me!

Disclaimer: Don't ask, don't sue.

* * *

**Date: N/A  
**

* * *

Lucca sat listlessly on the dark courtyard that composed Spekkio's _milieu_ in the End of Time. She had been lying there, slightly feverish, but more anxious than anything, and stared at the Master of War impatiently. The latter was pacing up and down in the middle of the arena, muttering silently to himself; the former had beckoned to him several times, but gave up when rebuked with silence. The atmosphere was tense and lonely. For one, neither Crono or Marle had accompanied Lucca (granted, the inventor hadn't alerted them of her departure), and the dramatic change in Spekkio's countenance when he heard the symptoms had annihilated whatever joviality could have existed in such a situation.

Lucca's forehead was burning, practically scalding her hand when she tried to feel it, but she didn't feel any internal malaise; in her mind, there wasn't anything wrong with her, so she was even more surprised by Spekkio's sudden change in expression. The Master of War in question, who had now assumed the shape of Masa & Mune, especially the fat lip, continued to pace up and down. Finally, he stopped altogether, and turned to face Lucca.

"What you have, is magical feedback." Spekkio said firmly, though a slight waver could be heard in his voice. Lucca hadn't seen Spekkio halt his pacing and jumped at the words, but as the syllables sunk in, she only grew more perplexed.

"Magical Feedback? What is that supposed to be? Radio wave interference? But I'm a human, not a machine! I don't understand, I don't'…" Lucca babbled, her eyes turning downcast when Spekkio had a pained expression on his face. It was as she feared. It was some sort of disease, maybe terminal, but definitely life-altering.

Spekkio motioned to speak, but quickly shut his mouth again, as if unsure of his words. He almost started with a sentence again, and again stopped. Lucca only grew more worried.

"What's going on? Spekkio, tell me!" Lucca pleaded. The large creature with massive lips lowered his eyelids, and shook his head.

"I will say no more. I'm not going to involve myself in this any longer!" He exclaimed, his voice suddenly growing stronger.

"In what? What's going on? What's wrong with-" Lucca stopped when Spekkio glared at her quite ferociously, and pointed at the rusted brass door that led to Gaspar's pavement. She pleaded more, asking for him to elaborate, but Spekkio did not move. Lucca started for the door, too dazed and confused. She didn't stop when she heard him mutter,

"The phoenix will rise again…"

* * *

** Date: 1003 A.D.**

**

* * *

**

Lucca had still not gone to her mother or father; likewise, she had not seen Crono or Marle since leaving to see Spekkio. Her scientifically-minded intuition told her to seek out a resourcem, whether it be a library or a person she knew, who would have details about whatever ailed her. She racked her brain from a solution, some path that would resolve the algorithm with an outcome even she couldn't predict, and only one place came to mind. Her bags were packed by midnight.

* * *

** Date: 12005 B.C.**

**

* * *

**

Snow and winds. That's all she saw for hours. Snow, snow, more snow, deathly snow hitting the Epoch's cockpits like waves of freezing death. There was no life on the surface, just barren wasteland; even the precipitation held a bland grayish color, a result of the nearly nonexistent sun, and reaffirmed its inhumanity. The little trees were laden with murderous frost and, any animal stupid enough to be outside their dens would become casts for the snow to fill and brandish, adding to the pile of the white sheet that covered the floor of the continent.

"I've always hated this place…Where's that damn Skygate?" Lucca said in exasperation. The irony was exasperatingly thick: after crossing 13000 years worth of time in a few seconds, she was spending hours looking for a shabby little dome. The snow was thick and heavy, falling like massive white boulders, and the hail that sporadically accompanied it held was more forceful than most medieval armies. It was nearly impossible to see.

"Guess I'll have to land. I won't find it from up here." Easier said than done. There was no safe landing spot, no flat land. The snow made mountains and hills, and it froze so quickly that most of the snow was even more dangerous to land on than the mountains. Landing on them would risk a landslide or avalanche, and Epoch would be buried underneath forever, or until all the snow melted a good twelve thousand years later.

Suddenly, a large mountain jutted out of the ground in front of her. Lucca turned the steering wheel hard to the right, just barely avoiding the utter destruction of the Epoch's left wing. She hadn't noticed the protrusion, distracted by her frantic search for a landing site and the horrible visibility.

"Goddamn…This place is horrible. I don't know how the Earthbound can manage…" She muttered to no one in particular. Under the mountain was a little cove, just large enough for most of the Epoch to fit. The mountain itself was made of black rock, scarred and cracked on all its surfaces. Yet, it held fast in face of endless insurmountable weather. The snow piled up in its chisels. It froze, breaking the mountain slowly, dooming it to a torturous death. But it seemed to be the only thing living; the only thing trying to survive. All else was white, but not the pure white that was so deeply enthralling around Christmas time in Truce; white in this place was so synonymous with nonexistence that the mountain's brown color alone was defiance. Once the Epoch had been safely landed, Lucca struggled immensely against the rushing wind and the snow slapping her face, and strained herself just to exit the vehicle, so unaccustomed was she to the volatile weather. Her hair threatened to rip out of her head, flailing back ravenously like whips. The wind seemed intent on stopping her movement. The more she walked, the harder the wind blew, to the point that it was impossible to progress. Yet, she heard something that drew her forward. It seemed like a wail; a very distant, faint wail, nearly nonexistent, for the owner of the voice was hidden by sheets of white. Yet, as Lucca struggled on, it became louder. She could now pick out some characteristics of the wail; it was a child, certainly. Possibly a girl, for it was far too high pitched and weak to be a boy. For some reason, Lucca could recognize the screams of children very accurately.

"Is anyone there?" Lucca screamed. The storm began to recede, forgetting its previous occupation of blowing Lucca across the landscape like a piece of paper. The child came into view. It was indeed a little girl. As Lucca came closer, she saw more. The girl was dressed in brown rags not uncommon to the Earthbound, her hair placed in a little bun over her head. It seemed that her hairdresser had tried as hard as possible to make her brown strands as elegant as Enlightened hairstyles, but failed horribly. The locks were dirty and clammy, most likely because of the storm, and the hair was simply so lackluster and insipid that the little bun was even pathetic.

Lucca was right behind the girl now. She had a shabby doll in her hand, and was wailing quite uncontrollably. Lucca knelt next to her.

"What's wrong? Are you lost?" Lucca asked. The girl stopped crying temporarily, though her eyes still held unspilt tears, and gave Lucca a bear hug, desperate for protection. She was shivering from cold and fear, her skin was clammy and cold, and Lucca was curious as to how this child had not died of frostbite or severe hypothermia by now..

"I qwan't find me mommy…" The girl said. Earthbound ones usually had bad speech, and considering her age, her enunciation was almost incomprehensible. Lucca asked the girl to repeat her sentence a number of times before she understood.

Ironically, it was such discrepancies that partly led to the gap between Earthbounds and Enlightened Ones. Little things like manageable hair, the color of the aforementioned hair, and even the thickness of one's fingers were always seen as in the Enlightened population. The Zealians were so superior that Earthbounds were seen as no better than the ground they stood on. Actually, the ground was probably more important.

"Do you know where she went?" Lucca asked. The girl shook her head sniffing.

The storm was completely gone now. Lucca took off the massive parka she brought just for the occasion and wrapped it around the little girl, leaving Lucca in a plain sweater and many layers of shirts. Lucca removed a few of these sweaters, and still did not feel particularly cold. The girl tugged on Lucca's pant leg.

"What is it?" Lucca said.

"Can yhoo cawry me?"

"Sure. What's your name, anyway?" Lucca said, picking her up and cradling her in her arms. The girl grabbed a fistful of Lucca's collar and held on, sniffling sporadically and shivering. Lucca realized how numb the girl was when her skin turned an awkward blue as she warmed inside of Lucca's clothes. She had gotten practice from carrying her younger cousin. The girl couldn't have been older than five, so it wasn't much different.

"Exholia. But my bhwudah calls me 'Exy'." She said simply. What an awkward name, Lucca thought. But then again, everything was awkward during this time period. Lucca started on a march, the cold biting her skin like a serpent. The fire running through her veins made her slightly more resistant, but it was still excruciatingly cold. Lucca had no particular destination at this point; she simply marched in a random direction, both to warm herself and to find some trace of the girl's mother. This took longer than she hoped.

After what seemed like hours, Lucca found tracks. There were footprints on the ground of a human being. Well, their boots anyway. Next to these were even larger tracks, however. Tracks of some sort of massive animal. The image of the dinosaur that had assailed her swarmed Lucca's mind. She was suddenly struck by fear, fear that she would be a snack, or be bitten and left to die of blood loss while the little girl lay stranded, doomed to an icy grave; the fear went as quickly as it came, but Lucca was shaken either way. She took each step with excruciating caution, if only to reassure herself of her security.. A little bit of sun shone through the clouds reassuringly. Lucca closed her eyes and smiled, glad to finally have some heat in that excruciating cold. The rays seemed to rejuvenate her. She felt full of energy, ready to resume her trek to find the girl's mother or the Skygate, whichever came first. Lucca scolded herself for bringing the girl along. She was only a hindrance, slowing down her search. Yet, she would have felt guilty if she had left Exholia to be buried in a frozen tomb.

Suddenly, the rays disappeared, a massive dark shadow falling over Lucca. The red glow on the inside of her eyelids vanished into darkness, and she opened her eyes almost instantly. In front of her was a massive beast, no doubt the producer of the tracks had been made by it. It had tusks the length of twice the Epoch jutting out under its mouth stained with blood, as if it had bore through some animal. Lucca felt fear once more, and the sun was not there to help her. The footprints of the human had stopped at that exact location. No doubt, they had been killed and propelled by the ravenous creature in front of her, and it must have been their blood that stained its tusks. Would Lucca be its next victim? Or would Exholia be a meal? There was no Marle to heal her now, and if she were dealt another blow like the first with the dinosaur, her life would certainly end.

"Iz-iz a maswudon!" The girl said. Lucca was paralyzed in fear. She couldn't think of what to do. There she was, stuck in a desolate place about to fight for her life with a monster 20 times her weight. What else was there to do, but rely what had always saved her before. Her trusty Wondershot.

Lucca pulled the gun out of its holster. It was already put together, but the bullets were not loaded. She struggled to put them in, her fingers suddenly becoming massive and unwieldy as the beast continued to advance on her. The footsteps of the creature were heavy. It snorted as it approached, adding more beats to Lucca's already frantic heart. Finally Lucca managed to pop in 4 bullets, too little to fell the beast, but hopefully enough to slow the animal's advance. The Wondershot had the amazing yet unreliable ability of causing little pain or causing a lot at random. Simply the direction of the air could change the propulsion system, and the bullets could go through many layers of stone. Or, if the conditions were right, it couldn't even be able to break through cardboard.

"I hope this works…" Lucca muttered. Exholia had crawled out of her hold and crept away. She was now watching the scene in amazement, as if it was some kind of demented theatrical performance. She didn't seem to realize the scope of it. If Lucca were killed, she would be next…Lucca held the Wondershot tightly in her hand, and aimed right between the animal's forehead. Just as her finger squeezed the trigger, the beast fell into a charge. The bullet launched from the weapon, skidded off the right tusk, breaking of a chunk of bone, and served only to anger the animal more. It gave a massive trumpet, its eyes widening in pain as it rushed to impale Lucca with its ivory tusks.

The adrenaline seemed to impair Lucca's judgment somewhat. She growled furiously, and threw the Wondershot down on the floor. Her eyes closed; she spoke softly, her words coming out as spidery syllables, the magic streaming through her veins, ready to explode. Suddenly, she opened her eyes, her mouth in a scowl. Her right arm glowed amber as if it was burning, and she steadied herself for the oncoming leap. If she were to do one false move, the tusk would certainly go right through her. Only a few moments left... Without a second though, Lucca jumped, grabbed hold of the horn, and used the momentum to propel herself onto the back of the animal with the lithe of an Olympic athlete. Her fist drew back, the fire crackling and sending smoke into the air, and in one swift blow, her right hand drove into the back of the animal, missing its spine by a few millimeters, but melting the skin and charring the muscle.

Suddenly, the air smelt like burned meat, and the large animal howled in incomprehensible pain. It didn't know where this pain had come from, or how it got there; only that it made it impossible to feel any other sensation. Its head jerked in all directions; the force of these movements threw Lucca off and into the cold snow, the permafrost underneath was frozen solid, and scraped her back roughly. Meanwhile, the brute continued to flail itself around, under the illusion that throwing its body around would mend the hole in its back. It did know one thing though; Lucca had done it. It tried to charge once move, its stubby feet moving awkwardly, trying to accommodate the pain that encompassed its back.

"Stupid piece of…" Lucca muttered, seeing the 'maswudon' come at her again. She struggled to her feet, and let whatever untamed strength her affliction granted her take over. Unconsciously, driven by instinct as if she had done this every day in her life.she summoned fire into her palms. Her fingertips burned, yet she felt no pain. The air around her hissed and fizzled and the small droplets of snow melted. The brute was close, less than a few yards. Without thought, Lucca's palm drove into the ground. She felt a distant rumble suddenly grow closer to where her hand had hit the ground; a red imprint marked her action. The animal drew closer, the rumble of its feet hitting the floor contrasting with the roar of whatever stirred under the earth. The ground heaved and groaned, the sound growing closer and closer just as the monster approached. It seemed to Lucca that her spell had done nothing; she had never used it before, yet something inside her being just told her to thrust her sizzling palm into the cold earth. Any minute now, she would be trampled. She closed her eyes, waiting, waiting…

A massive boom tore through the air, propelling Lucca backward. Lucca opened her eyes, only to see pure lava erupting from the ground. Yet, it wasn't the planet's lava. It was her own. Her magic had condensed so much that it materialized in this form; the contents of the core of the Earth itself. Without warning, the lava rushed upwards at uncontrollable speeds, resembling a pillar. The snow melted around it instantly. Likewise, the 'maswudon' lost its head, the charred skull chopped right off by the sheer force of the pillar, just as the dinosaur had lost its head. The fire continued to travel upward, slowly expanding in its diameter. Lucca was standing right on top of it. Any normal living thing would have been baked before they could realize a giant furnace had been opened under them. Yet, she felt nothing. The fire was soothing; it seemed to revitalize her essence, like a warm bath or a goodnight's sleep. As the heat intensified, Lucca only felt more comfortable, as if she was tucked into bed by her mother and read a bedtime story. A smile graced Lucca's handsome face, a smile that most would have interpreted as sadistic, but that was nothing more than glee. A loud crash erupted above her. Exholia screamed as she heard it. Lucca had completely forgotten about the child as she slaughtered the animal that threatened her. The girl was staring, amazed at the raw power that Lucca had unleashed from her bare hands. The pillar could be reflected in her eyes, as well as wonder and marvel.

Finally, the source of the crash was discovered. A massive chunk of rock flew downward as the fire pillar receded into the bowels of the earth. The place where it had erupted from was now a hot springs. Steam rose from it, and the rock chunk landed right on top of the pool, splattering hot water in acres around it. Both Lucca and Exholia were drenched; soon, both were laughing uncontrollably. The girl ran up and hugged Lucca tightly.

"Exholia!" A voice said. It sounded loud and clear now that only small snow flakes fell, instead of the massive clumps from before. A woman could be seen from far away. She was clutching her shoulder in one hand. Blood could be seen around this hand, though it did not flow openly. Undoubtedly, she was the victim of the creature. When she saw its dead body with a smoldering hole, and its charred skull lying not far away, she gasped in amazement.

"Wu-what happened here?" She asked in confusion. Lucca could see that this was Exholia's mother. Their hair was done similarly; the same marks of laughter adorned their cheeks. Her voice was melodious, soothing, and articulate. She was no doubt beautiful. Despite the dirt on her and the blood on her arm, she must have been the most beautiful Earthbound that Lucca had ever seen, probably surpassing even some Enlightened ones. Yet, it wasn't so much her appearance that struck Lucca. It was the determination to find her daughter despite of her injury, ignoring the fact that anything that stayed in that storm for any longer than an hour would have surely died. She was clearly in pain; she could barely walk straight, if at all.

"Mammy, this lwady saywed me and kwilled the maswudon!" Exholia exclaimed. She ran to greet her mother, who still could not believe her eyes. Lucca was lying at the side of her pond, smiling gratefully that her quest had been completed. The chunk of rock that fell must have certainly been from Zeal. The skygate couldn't have been far.

"Th-thank you. I-I don't know what to say…" The lady said, walking up to Lucca. Lucca saw her shoulder slump down, the blood crusted on it, but still oozing. Without a second thought, Lucca tore off a piece of her sleeve, and wrapped it tightly around the woman's shoulder. The lady didn't complain. Instead, she stared in awe into Lucca's eyes.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Lucca." Lucca said, extending her hand. The woman took it and brought it to her lips in reverence. This was a sign of respect that many Earthbounds did to Enlightened Ones. Of course, the Zealians always jerked their hands away, for fear that they would become as filthy as their neighbors.

"You don't need to do that. I just wanted to shake your hand!" Lucca said. The lady stared at her in confusion.

"Is this some kind of joke? You don't want to be worshipped like the rest of your kind?" She said, a tinge of anger in her voice. Looking at her painful expression, she could tell that the Enlightened Ones had wronged her in some way.

"I'm not an Enlighted Ones. I'm not even from here." Lucca said sincerely. The woman was about her age. Well, not exactly her age, for Lucca looked 5 years older than she was, but still her peer. The lady looked at her from head to toe and came to the same conclusion. Lucca's clothes were foreign. Her hair color did not exist in the Enlightened or Earthbound gene pools.

"I-I am sorry. I didn't mean to judge, it's just that…" Exholia's mother said. Lucca shook her head to show that she wasn't angry. "What happened here? Did you create that pillar? How did the mastodon die?" The woman said, asking frantically.

"Well…I was looking for the Skygate, when I heard your daughter crying. She was lost and afraid, so I volunteered to try to find you. I began to see tracks of boots, then tracks of a large animal. When your tracks ended, we paused to catch our breaths, but the monster attacked us. And well…you know the rest." Lucca said, grinning. Her usual pride was exposing itself.

"You would do that for a complete stranger?" Lucca nodded.

"Then you are truly kind. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, though there is nothing I can do to repay you." The lady said sweetly. She said the last part with sadness. The Earthbound were worst off than the average gopher in this wasteland.

"You don't need to repay me. All I need is your name. So, if I see you again, we can talk. Right now, I really need to get into Zeal." Lucca said amicably. The woman smiled.

"I am Hexia. I see you have met my daughter. I have one other daughter and a son." She said. Lucca was astounded.

"Three children? How old are you?" Lucca said with amazement. The lady seemed to think it natural. She couldn't be any older than 20 years old.

"I have endured 23 summers. My daughters are twins, however, and I gave birth to my son on my 14th year." Lucca still thought it odd, that Hexia could be so invigorated and youthful when half her life was practically gone. Earthbounds tended to die in their forties. "And about the Skygate," she said, pointing to a mountain that jutted out near the sea. It was quite distant, but without the snow and wind, it would be an easy march.

"Well then Lucca," Hexia said, embracing her. "Again, I thank you for saving my child's life." Lucca nodded. Exholia trotted up to Lucca and tugged on her pants.

"Thwank you, Lukwa!" She exclaimed. She grabbed her mother's hand, and they both began their trek to the Earthbound cave. Lucca watched them go, and she was glad to see that sight. But she still had quite a distance to cover before she could reach her destination: the magical kingdom of Zeal.

* * *

There's Chapter 4 for you. I hope everyone liked it. Please R&R, and sorry again for not updating sooner. 


	5. A Trickle of Conflict

7/24/05. Sorry about the long delay. The last part of the previous chapter was more or less unaltered from its first release, mostly because I rushed through it, but I'll be sure to review all the of following ones. Leave reviews, 10 only makes me sad…

Disclaimer: I own this computer…and other things. Just not Chrono Trigger. Well, I do own every character not found in Chrono Trigger that is in this story!

* * *

**Date: 12005 B.C.**

**

* * *

**

The march to the Skygate took longer than Lucca expected, longer being defined as 4 hours. Even when the snow abated, the lower continent had insanely awkward terrain; rock jutted out from under the minor parts of the ground that was snow-covered. Otherwise, it was a frozen pond (or other body of water) waiting to crack and be torn asunder, pulling Lucca inside and drowning her. Other patches of land had the fainted sign of soil underneath, yet meters away was miles of permafrost. This contrast gave the landscape an ephemeral quality; Lucca could hardly believe that the snow she walked upon could easily be one of the fields she had ran through after her escape from the hospital. Ironically, that had been 13000 years later, not yesterday.

"Dammit, I don't have time for this…" Lucca muttered under her breath. She dragged along a small pack that had contained the remnants of her clothing. After tearing off most of her sleeves to wrap Hexia's gnarled arm, as well as getting her clothing mangled by the now dead creature's tusks, Lucca saw it as necessary to put her worn clothes away and wear the only other set she had brought. All her other supplies were stored in the Epoch.

The mountain that housed the Skygate lay closer. Over it, she could now see the massive pale beam that would propel her up to Kajar. On the face of the mountain was also the seal of Zeal; a pair of parallel lightning bolts surrounding two orbs. These orbs were adorned with the same inscriptions as Schala's pendant

The thrill of finally having reached her destination excited Lucca, and she quickened her pace. She wasn't quite sure what she would do once in the city; having no real clue except the fleeting words "magical feedback", there was little chance she could even find an answer that would suit her in the city. Yet, she marched towards it while the zeal of a five-year-old in a candy store with a 10g note, aware that they can afford anything in the store, but nonetheless exhilarated by the choices laid in front of them.

And then, as Lucca got even closer to the mountain, she could see a figure coming towards her. Actually, she could only see the figure's massive white pike made of pure mithril. The subject of mithril is one that ought to, if not must, be discussed separately. During the heroic trio's invasion of the Ocean Palace five years from now, Lucca had noticed a small quirk about this metal; anyone who had a mithril weapon, more often than not, took the entire strength of her person to fell. The metal itself was almost incomprehensibly rare, moreso than gold, and was rumored to be unmoldable except at temperatures nearing 20 000 degrees Celsius. It made sense, therefore, that only Zeal Kingdom had prominently used the metal, for it was the only nation capable of producing and harnessing the temperature for the proper utilization of mithril

The bright sheen of the pike as the sun reflected off of its polished surface was therefore not a pleasant sight to Lucca. As she came closer to the mountain, she could see both that the figure was running, and that its purple robes fluttering in the wind. The figure must have been a Zealian; this purple was crafted by magic, and the snails that provided a normal purple dye were in very few numbers due to the cold of this era. The figure was clearly running towards Lucca, which only made whoever was sprinting towards Lucca with a weapon only awarded to the elite of the most powerful nation to grace the earth (or sky, as circumstance would have it), rather unnerving.

The figure came close enough for Lucca to see facial features. It was a girl, though the inventor wasn't sure; anyone in Zeal could have long blue hair. Upon further notice, Lucca confirmed the figure's gender by its graceful movements; the light step characteristic to the more delicate pedal structure of the fairer sex, the slightness of figure that could have discredited any notion of masculinity except in the most metrosexual individuals. As alien as the stranger appeared in her elegant robe and startingly long weapon, Lucca felt relieved to see that it was a girl, and not a morbidly sadistic soldier of the likes her mother had told her stories of during Lucca's youth.

The person slowed their base, and finally stood, in a rigid and rather imposing posture, in front of Lucca. A height of about 5' 9'', clear blue eyes, and blue hair; it was all Lucca could discern in her consternation. At least, there would be some company after 4 hours…

"Halt! Who goes there?" The girl said in a militaristic tone. She seemed ferocious, and her pike was pointed threateningly at Lucca's chest. Somehow, after sprinting that distance to confront Lucca, the girl wasn't tired one bit. There was no perspiration or voluminous heaving of the chest characteristic of the conclusion of long-distance sprints

"Who are you? Her Majesty explicitly requests that all Earthbounds be turned back from the Skygate." The girl stated after Lucca didn't answer. She thrust her pike forward so that it was millimeters away from Lucca's heart. In a reflex, Lucca jumped back, and eyed her assailant in terror; she had just been practically stabbed by some unknown lady who thought she was Earthbound.

Now that there was a considerate distance between Lucca and the malicious weapon that had nearly impaled her, she stared incredulously at the person opposite her. The girl was dressed in long robes that were loose and flowing, yet didn't seem to hinder her movement. She had the normal traits for Enlightened Ones; blue eyes, blue hair. Her rather delicate face was only distorted by her frown and insistence on poking Lucca with her sharp weapon.

"I'm not an Earthbound, don't kill me!" Lucca shouted quickly when her assailant thrust her pike more menacingly than before. The girl frowned, and held her pike to her side. She eyed Lucca cautiously, the wind blowing her robes behind her. The billowing wind drew Lucca's attention to the soldier's overly muscular legs. This, combined with her previous sprint, convinced Lucca that the person standing before her was, indeed, highly trained. The inventor's conjecture had not been false.

"Explain…" The soldier said simply, in a fairly high-pitched and melodious voice that betrayed both her attire and demeanor. Lucca began, leaving out some key details, of course.

"I-I…ummm…I need to research something in Zeal. A-a spell that I've seen!" Lucca said. Her fabrication didn't seem too unrealistic. She had seen a medley of people research spells and practice them in the massive fields outside of Kajar.

"Oh really? So, how did you, a Zealian, find your way down here when the Land Bridge has been closed for just over a month ?" The girl said gruffly, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. Her hand tightened upon the mithril weapon, as if an unsatisfactory answer would give her reason to sever Lucca's head from her body. Lucca stared wide-eyed at the small detail she had overlooked, and was so gripped by fear due to the Zealian's forceful eyes that she couldn't fabricate an answer.

"Liar!" The girl shouted, grabbing her pike and thrusting it towards Lucca's chest with deadly accuracy. Her robes fluttered as the wind blew them, her muscles tensing as her legs pushed her towards the destruction of Lucca's life.

"WAIT!" Lucca shouted, jumping back. This time, the pike came so close that it poked a hole in Lucca's torso. The hole was miniscule, of course; the very tip only had bore through her skin. A droplet of blood trickled out of the puncture.

"What then, Earthbound! If you are what you claim, you wouldn't be here in the first place!" The girl said menacingly. Her statement didn't display any particular contempt for Earthbounds; rather, she seemed irritated with Lucca for stalling her murderous intentions.

"I'll prove it to you; I'm no Earthbound!" Lucca said quickly, an idea springing to mind. She knew just the trick.

"And what would this proof be?" Before the girl had finished the sentence, Lucca's palm was on the ground, leaving a reddish imprint on the snowy surface. For the sake of ostentation, Lucca drew the markings of Zeal kingdom around the palm, and drew a wide circle around the whole marking, making an impressive-looking emblem.

"I advise that you move from there!" Lucca shouted with the same excitement she felt as she slaughtered the beast a few hours ago. The girl looked at the ground skeptically, but didn't move from her spot. The ground trembled as Lucca expected. The markings she had made glowed, small embers erupting from them as the earth struggled to release its burden. In one abrupt moment, an inferno erupted from the ground as fire and lava thrust upward, for the third time in the inventor's life. This instance was slightly more impressive, because Lucca was skillfully willing the lava to spin counterclockwise as it ascended. The girl was blown back by the sheer force of the volatile magic; yet, Lucca stood right over her insignia, unscathed, laughing maniacally. After a few minutes, the raging storm of fire calmed down, sunk back into the Earth, and the crest Lucca had made was just black ash, a sharp contrast to the pearly white snow it rested upon.

"Sweet mother of…" The girl muttered in astonishment as she stared at where the ground had exploded under her, still lying on her back. Lucca grinned fanatically at her feat; part of her clothes were completely burned off, but there was no damage done to her otherwise. The girl saw it as impossible.

"Now are you convinced?" Lucca said smugly. The girl grunted in annoyance, got off the ground, and brushed the snow that had gotten on her robes. She picked her pike off its resting place, held it firmly in her hands, and pointed it at Lucca's forehead in a battle stance.

"Well then, madam. If you wish to visit the Kingdom in the Sky, you will have to go through me." The girl said, smiling haughtily. Lucca frowned. It wouldn't be too hard to fell this girl considering what she had faced traveling with Crono and Marle. She had killed Lavos, for heaven's sake! Well, she had been there when Crono delivered the final blow. How she would have liked to have Crono here now to decapitate this nuisance.

One bullet to the head would finish it, but Lucca would make sure to just blow the girl's leg off for the sake of thoroughness, so she would not impede on Lucca's quest further; there was no point killing her for no reason.

It seemed Lucca's previous display had given her an overly grandiose view of herself, for as her hand moved to her waste to find her gun, she could only think of the dozens of different ways she could utterly crush the person before her. Yet, one problem had suddenly arisen in her mind. She had left the Wondershot where she dropped it as she fought the monster. Magic was her only weapon.

* * *

"What is the matter? Will you not fight me?" The girl said with a half-grin that made her look very dangerous. She graspe  
d her pike so hard her knuckles turned white, and she bent her knees slightly, preparing to spring into the air and relieve Lucca of her existence.

"There's a little problem here…I-I left my gun a few hours back…C-can we postpone this…" Lucca said in unadulterated panic. She barely knew enough spells to take this Zealian out, considering her opponent's race orchestrated magic's entry into the world in the first place.

"I believe that is not an option. I don't know what a gun is, but I'm sure you can fight without it, being as your magic is so potent." The girl said sarcastically, her intent to mock Lucca into attacking. Then, the same idiotic pride that had made Lucca go dinosaur-hunting came back when the insult assailed her; the foolish pride that told her that her magic was just as powerful as anyone else's, if not moreso, and that she needed to prove that to fulfill herself.

"Fine then. I accept your challenge…" Lucca said fiercely. The Zealian raised her eyebrow as Lucca's sudden change in demeanor, but shrugged it off and entered a fighting stance. Her blue eyes were focused on Lucca's purple ones, and they could both see each other's reflection. The wind began to howl, blowing ferociously and whipping back the girl's robes and hair. Likewise, Lucca's hair was flying all over the place.

As if spurred by a gunshot, the girl leapt forward, and thrusted her pike at Lucca's neck. The target being so small, of course, Lucca rolled to the side and conjured a balled of fire from her palm in a fraction of a second, and threw it at her assailant. The Zealian swatted it with her pike, and once again entered a battle stance, eyeing Lucca sternly. They were once again at a stalemate, waiting for each other to strike. The purple-headed one charged, muttering incomprehensible things under her breath. The truth was, Lucca didn't need to speak to cast those spells, seeing as she was so used to them. It was more of a way to distract her opponent's into thinking they would get torched, allowing Lucca to pop a bullet into their skulls.

But the intention this time was to cast a spell, Fire 2 in particular. As if on cue, the sky went dark and red stars could be seen in the air. There were at least 50, each one a molten boulder waiting to pulverize Lucca's foes. The Zealian smiled, as if her worries had been corrected. She held her pike to her side, and waited. The meteors came closer, and Lucca got an idea. Being that she couldn't aim her spells for her life, and that her primary weapon was buried under the snow somewhere, it would only be logical to pummel her opponent with magic rather than use calculated strikes. Sure, she would faint after that from lack of mana and overall exertion, but she would win.

Lucca ran into the strike zone, paying careful attention to where the meteors would land by the small red shadows they made on the ground. that marked the ground. Lucca leapt into the air, surprising her opponent, who grasped the pike that was lying at her side, eager to impale Lucca and get it over with. Before long, three emblems adorned the snow-filled ground, and the earth began to shake as the meteors came closer. Almost simultaneously, all three of Lucca's pillars of fire rose forth from the earth, somewhat trapping her opponent, who stood bewildered and unable to escape, lest she run into a swirling tower of fire and lava. And while she worried about the pillars, dozens of flaming meteors stuck the ground at random place, but all intended for the Zealian.

Suddenly, in an amazing feat of agility that surprised both Lucca and herself, the Zealian ran towards a pillar, jammed her pike into the ground, and used it as a pole to vault through the fire. She came out of it with minor burns, and conveniently landed on a meteor that was planning to hit the exact spot she had just stood in. The girl ran again, jumping into another meteor, even though her soles had melted. A white aura began to engulf her, and her pupils disappeared as the white continued to envelop her body. Leaping up into the air a final time, she concentrated all of the white energy into the tip of her pike, and gave a huge overhead slash that chopped the final meteor in half and froze it into solid ice. Her exertion almost complete, she landed right in front of Lucca, and extended her pike as if to stab her opponent right through the stomach. Lucca jerked backwards, and fell backwards roughly. By the time she recovered, the sharp edge of the pike rested on her neck. Defeat.

"W-well, I-I guess…it's o-over…" Lucca said, trembling as the pike came dangerously close to her throat. She closed her eyes, and waited for the pain of death.

"Are you going to lie there all day!" The girl shouted at Lucca after the latter had not budged for over 15 second.. The Zealian grabbed her arm and lifted the purple-headed one to her feet. Lucca finally opened her eyes, but was surprised to see her assailant smiling warmly at her. "My name is Khadgara, 3rd Lieutenant of the Enlightened Guard." She said, extending her hand. Lucca looked at her wide-eyed, still shocked that she hadn't been beheaded yet.

"Ummm…hi…I'm Lucca" Lucca said, grabbing her hand and giving her a weak handshake. Lucca was starting to feel dizzy from her extreme use of mana earlier, and her feet wobbled forcedly. Before she knew it, she was holding on to Khadgara's shoulder to prevent from falling, but even that didn't stop the darkness from shrouding her mind.

* * *

Date: 12005 B.C.

Lucca opened her eyes to see a warm lamp hanging from the ceiling. This lamp was made of pure gold, which luminous candles perched upon a concentric ring of twelve spokes. She had never seen such a thing. The lamp would have been too high for someone to light it, and the candles didn't seem to be melting. They just eternally shone. She was lying on a rather large bed that was unbelievable comfortable; she had no intention of getting up anytime soon.

"Awake already?" Lucca heard Khadgara's voice say. She jerked her head around to see the lieutenant standing in the doorway of the room she was laid in. As she looked around, Lucca could see that they were in a cave. It was about the same size as an Earthbound cave would be, except there was no ceiling. Only the ground and the door were earthen. Yet, for some reason, no wind entered the cave. The sunlight shone through, but nothing else. It was as if glass had been placed in a wide dome above the small room, but there was no evidence of this; at least, none visible.

"What is…this?" Lucca asked in amazement, pointing at the lamp. The odd-looking lamp, the fully exposed cave that was unharmed by the freezing winds of the Ice Age; all of this made no sense. Khadgara laughed, a rather sweet-sounding laugh that was laced with unadulterated amusement. The laugh sounded like a song, almost as if a siren was singing it with engaging melodies. Yet, it annoyed Lucca that Khadgara's laugh was so melodious. Were the Enlightened One's always so perfect?

"That lamp," Khadgara said, walking over to the object in question, and pointing at it, "is called a chandelier. It consists of twelve hook-shaped recesses all attached to a central pole. The candles are lit by magic. They will never burn out so long as Zeal Kingdom is still standing." She said matter-of-factly. Grabbing a chair that lay next to the bed, Khadgara sat down at Lucca's side.

"That was very impressive use of magic there. Reckless, but impressive." She said, grinning widely. Lucca grinned as well, glad that she was finally getting some recognition.

"That was very impressive use of a pike back that. I never knew you could vault onto falling meteors." Lucca said. Khadgara clasped her hands behind her head, and sighed.

"A skill I learned from my brother. You'll surely meet him in Zeal."

"W-What? You're letting me go!" Lucca said in astonishment. She was convinced that losing that battle meant she was denied entry into Zeal Kingdom. Khadgara chuckled and smiled.

"Of course. With magic such as yours, it would be a crime not to let you study there. What spell are you looking for, anyway?" Khadgara asked. Lucca immediately fumbled for another fabrication. She had completely forgot about her excuse for needing to enter Zeal.

"Um…umm…well, it's this thing where…" Lucca said, stumbling for some ludicrous spell. Surely, the Zealian would already know most of these spells, having seen them, so she would be hard to fool.

"There was no spell, right?" Khadgara said all-knowingly. Lucca nodded in shame. "I'm not going to force you to tell me, of course. That is your own concern. However, others in Zeal are not as accepting to foreigners. You are better off blending in."

"How can I blend in? I have purple hair and eyes! Everything up there is blue!" Lucca said. Khadgara nodded again, smiling as though she had the whole thing worked out. Her smile was another symbol of perfection. Her lips curled in a slow manner, which her cheekbones rising upwards , but always seem to warm up to whoever saw it. Her eyes shone and reflected the chandelier as she smiled, giving the Zealian an angelic appearance.

"No one cares about hair color. There are so many different colors in Zeal that purple wouldn't be out of place. To blend in, you would need some Zealian robes." Khadgara got up from the chair, and motioned Lucca to follow her. Lucca was reluctant to leave the comfortable bed, and frowned when she was out of the cover's warm embrace.

"We have identical body measurements, so this should fit you well." Khadgara said, giving Lucca four ornately decorated robes. They were similar to the one's she had seen in Zeal, except with several variations: the hems were rimmed with golden thread, and the robes were particularly longer than any others she'd seen. Wearing that meant not seeing your feet again. The embroidery on the robes was amazingly detailed, and Lucca was particularly impressed by the skill that must have gone into each one.

"Well…thanks!" Lucca said cheerfully. She liked the robes' appearance very much, and was anxious to try them on.

Not long after, Lucca was changed in a robe of complicated purple and light blue patterns. She had let her hair fall down to its full length as many Zealians did, instead of wearing it in an odd-looking bun, a habit she had picked up once her purple locks began grew exponentially. Both she and her mother had short hair, and neither had ever needed to do anything besides brush it when it became too disheveled. Lucca's hair reached her knees now, something she had never thought possible, but the massive growth had slowed down and practically stopped. Coincidentally, most of the backs of her robes were fully purple, so her abnormal hair color was well camouflaged.

"My goodness, Lucca. You'll be turning a few heads up there." Khadgara said with a wide grin. Lucca blushed and tried to dismiss the thought. She was quite uncomfortable being stared at by men, while Marle seemed to thrive in it. As an attractive princess, the number of suitors knocking on King Guardia's door was unbearable, yet Princess Nadia had yet to set her sights of marriage. Marle's parents had made it quite clear that no arrangements would be made, and that the princess would choose her spouse by her own will. At this rate, Marle would marry at the age of 50.

Lucca was particularly impressed by her own appearance, however. She remembered the little rant she had had with herself almost a little under a month ago, when she was so morose by her prepubescent boy-like figure. Yet, for some reason, she had grown exponentially in the past two weeks. She was at least six inches taller, and sported a pair of long, seductive legs accentuated by her slender waist and attractive hips. She had no more need for glasses, and her vision was clearer and more precise than she could have imagined. Her breasts were full and perky, not so big that it distorted both her appearance and her balanced, but not so small that one mistook her torso for a table or wall. But, most of all, she was enthralled by her hair. She had always been particularly envious of long-haired girls, hiding this behind disdain and the belittling of these girls with terms such as "whimsical" and "idiotic". Yet, long hair was something she had always wanted, and she had more of it than she could handle. Her hair was at least four feet long, reaching the middle of her thigh, and it shone with enough luster to make Marle wet her pants. Stared in awe, and turned back to Khadgara.

"I don't really want that to happen…" Lucca said meekly, sounding like a little child. Khadgara laughed.

"Oh, don't worry. You'll get used to it. Within two weeks, there'll be dozens of men asking for a hot time between the sheets!" Khadgara said, trying to stifle her laughter as Lucca's eyes widened. Lucca blushed widely at this comment, and imagined herself barring the door of her room from thousands of testosterone-driven monsters desperate to stick their items in a special place of hers. It made her shudder. "For Zeal's sake, Lucca! Stop being so pathetic. The most entertaining thing to do in Zeal is toy with those little boys and break their hearts before anything serious happens. It seems evil, but the others get the message that you're not interested."

"I have no intention of breaking hearts. That's the cruelest thing you can do to human beings! How can you say that!" Lucca said forcefully. Khadgara closed her eyes and shook her head.

"You have a good heart Lucca. I think that will be attracting men more than your body will." At this statement, Lucca was speechless. Khadgara smiled warmly at her, waiting for her to respond. When Lucca didn't, the Zealian spoke.

"I'll be going back up to Zeal in a few days, once I finish my shift guarding the Skygate. Then we can talk more there. The Skygate is just outside this cave." Khadgara said. "And another thing. The basic greeting is a hug. It signified friendship, even with someone you've never met. Refusing a hug is a symbol of enmity. Shaking hands is a greeting between opponents in any sort of contest. Keep that in mind." She added. Lucca nodded, and started towards the Skygate, still bewildered at the strange customs of that place. The hugging rule combined with her fear of being swarmed by horny guys made her reluctant to associate with people.

* * *

** Date: 12005 B.C.**

The Skygate was a lonely looking cave with a pillar erupting out of a crest on the ground. It served a single purpose: to transport people into Zeal. Doing the reverse required another structure. Yet, the Skygate was relatively unused. The continent was so frozen and harsh that no Enlightened One in their right mind would go down there by their own free will. Besides Khadgara, Lucca had yet to see an Enlightened One on the Earthbound lands.

Lucca stood before the Skygate, peering into the depths of magic that would propel her into Zeal Kingdom. On her right arm was a bag that contained the robes Khadgara had given her, but her thoughts were far from it. She wondered how long it would take to find answers. But, more importantly, she wondered what she would do there. Will it be a twenty-minute ordeal, looking up an encyclopedia, reading a few pages about it, then returning to her time? Or will Kajar's massive libraries of infinite knowledge be as clueless as she was? Lucca stared into the pillar of light, now uncertain. This may have all been in vain. Even if she found out what was wrong, what would it change? The magic would remain. She would keep the 10 inches added to her height, and her hair would stay just as long. She would retain the ability to heal inhumanly quick, like when she was mauled by that dinosaur; her improved vision, which she had no problem with, wouldn't vanish with the truth.

"What am I doing here…" Lucca asked herself silently. Snow had begun to fall outside again, and the wind entered the cave. It was cold, piercing her skin and tapping her nerves. Zealian robes were not meant to resist the unfavorable conditions of the continent. Partly due to a burst of courage, and partly to get away from the wind that threatened to turn her into an icicle, Lucca ran into the Skygate.

* * *

**Date: 12005 B.C.**

**

* * *

**

The sun shone. After a full day of snow, hail, and freezing temperature, the grass was green, and the wind was a soft breeze that didn't seek to freeze her. Lucca stared at the sky, blurring her eyes until she had to look away. This was the same sun that the Earthbounds saw. But, there were no clouds. Looking far into the horizon, Lucca could see the clouds below the floating islands; they were heavy and gray. Zeal Kingdom stood immune to this dreadful weather, because it was simply above it.

Enhasa stood a few miles away. From her place, Lucca could already see its towering dome, the wide fields about it, and the bridge that led to Kajar, her destination. She would have stopped at Enhasa instead, if she could. Unfortunately, it was only a large city. It had a decent library that paled in comparison to the wealth of information in Kajar, and even less people who excelled at magic to the point of knowing her condition. Instead, she would have to hike another few hours to reach the largest city of Zeal Kingdom, and her legs were already tired from walking and fighting for so long.

As Lucca came closer to Enhasa, she began to see Zealians. They wore all different kind of robes, all different heights and ages. Except, everyone's hair was a light color. Whether it was light blue, blond, or anything else, it was light and shiny. Lucca couldn't notice one person with a dark mane of purple like she had. Children were playing outside the city, chasing magical balls, running up and down the length of Enhasa with their parents and playmates. Their lives seemed empty of sorrow or even discomfort. All they had to worry about was what clothes to wear in the morning, or what dish to cook. Lucca had faced more hardships and loss than all of them combined.

This thought made Lucca slightly angry. She had seen Hexia and her daughter suffering, their clothes tattered and their hair soiled, living in pits that couldn't withstand the slightest chill. They hunted whatever wild game they could find for food; beds were made of leaves and branches set on stone or dried mud. Yet, these Zealians lived with all the luxuries in existence. They had all their needs provided to them by magic; magic grew the plants that Zealians used for food; the magic on the fingertips of the seamstresses made the clothing; the magic on a mother's hand made the ball that her children would foolishly entertain themselves with. With all this magic, why didn't the Enlightened Ones just bring the Earthbound into their homes, and allow them to live in their grand cities? What made Earthbounds so much different? The fact that they couldn't sew with incantations, but with needles instead?

Lucca looked away from the children, disgusted. She had already taken a dislike to the Enlightened Ones, a dislike she never had when she first came here with Crono and Marle. Lost in her thoughts, Lucca hadn't noticed that she had reached the bridge to Kajar already. Her legs were still hurting terribly, but her anger at the Enlightened Ones' privileges gave her an unknown source of energy that spurred her movements.

Yet, regardless of how much she disliked the Enlightened Ones now, Lucca still had to acknowledge the effort that was necessary to create a floating kingdom. All the magic necessary to lift the massive slabs of rock into the sky; the days of laboring to create the three magical cities of Enhasa, Kajar, and Zeal; the innumerable amount of spells necessary to suspend those cities in the air, which sat upon earth that weighed millions of tons. And, considering Lucca would be one of them for the duration of her stay, she couldn't be too envious, after all.

Lucca snapped out of her thoughts when she accidentally ran into a little child. The child in question was headed into the same place she was: the doors of Kajar. These large doors, adorned with the crest of Zeal, were only a few meters away.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Lucca said, lifting the small boy up from the ground. He didn't seem hurt, so Lucca's question was irrelevant.

"Yes, I'm alright. Sorry for running into you, madam. I will be careful next time." He said politely, bowing to Lucca with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"No, no, it was my fault." Lucca insisted. The boy shook his head, and walked into the city. Lucca was dazed at being knocked out of her daydreams so abruptly, and just barely managed to hold the massive door that was about to slam shut once the boy had gone through it.

* * *

**Date: 12005 B.C.**

**

* * *

**

Kajar was just as Lucca had remembered it: The entrance was full of service centers and shops, with a massive area of chairs and tables for people to talk, eat, sleep, read, or anything else they had in mind. The library would be further back.

Practically everything was adorned with gold and velvet. There were large windows that displayed the fields outside, which rolled for miles and miles before the hangar of the blackbird. Speaking of the Blackbird, the massive ship was still just a frame.

Coming back to Kajar after daydreaming, Lucca began to stare in wonder at everything in the city. This place was nothing short of magnificent. The walls were probably 40 ft high, the ceilings adorned with crests and the symbol of Zeal. The citadel had a fantastic feel to it, what with the small courtyards and wide alleys adorned with all sorts of marvelous decorations; plates of armor stood at random places. The odd chandeliers hung at regular intervals, these branching out into dozens of spokes rather than the small number she saw in Khadgara's "house". A single chandelier in Kajar lit the size of Lucca's house; actually, probably the entire town of Truce.

As if on impulse, Lucca broke into a run in an effort to reach the library. She was so excited to reach her destination at last that she couldn't repress the desire to absorb the information she craved. She would read the whole library if she had to; the walk to the city had made Lucca anxious to know how the kingdom had been made in the first place.

At first, it was rather crowded all over the city. People streamed to the entrance area to dine with their family and friends. There were thousands of private dining rooms about an square acre in total. These consisted of a massive dining table seating about 200 people. Food was brought in regularly (most of it magically assembled on the spot by expert "cooks"). In addition to hundreds of available dishes, people could choose what type of environment they wanted to dine in. The most popular were a waterfall and a garden of roses. The most unpopular were an Earthbound cave.

Before she knew it, Lucca had hit the library. It was filled with trillions of volumes spanning the length of time. Every known phenomenon or event had been recorded, and every person born in the Zeal kingdom was listed, along with their vital statistics and a page dedicated to their life. There was a small number of people in the huge room; it was starting to look more like a library, with nearly complete silence except for a few whispers here or there. These whispers seemed to merge together and force people to whisper louder, trying to be heard over another whispering bunch; eventually, the entire area would be full of shouting men and women trying to be heard. After they realized how loud they were being, they would be quiet for a few seconds and start whispering again. This cycle never ended.

Lucca scanned the line of book neatly stacked on the shelves. She had reached the row for "M"; if her condition was known as magical feedback in Zeal, she could find it. Unfortunately, so many books were placed in alphabetically arranged rows that it would take hours to walk to the end of a row. Luckily, Lucca had started searching in the _Mer-_ section, and had perused a book on _mer-_ging two magical spells together to create an entirely new one, instead of simply making them attack simultaneously. Almost like making a solution rather than a mixture. Within due time (45 minutes), Lucca had reached the _Mag- _section of the library, already thoroughly exhausted. Even with her newfound powers, her stamina drained like an unplugged well. Running her right index finger through the spine of hundreds of magic books (magic was the principal force in Zeal, so it was logical to have so many volumes dedicated to it), Lucca mouthed the subject of the books. At long last, she had reached a section of books that started with magical. Whether Zeal had her answer or not depended on these next few instances; the anxiety was making her uncomfortable, and she was beginning to want to leave and not find out what the disease was. These doubts continued to run through her mind until Lucca mouthed the letters _Magical Feedback and her Majesty, the Great Princess Schala_. Lucca's eyes widened as she jerked the book out of its place on the row. The crowd was beginning to shout again, except this time, a number of them began to rise and bow. Lucca didn't know what they were bowing at; she was too focused on opening the book correctly, as her fingers suddenly felt large and clumsy. At long last, she managed to pull back the cover, and began to read inwardly

_Magical Feedback and her Majesty, the Great Princess Schala (3000 A.Z.) _(A/N: A.Z. means "After Zeal". This is the way Zealians refer to time in this story. Considering Christ isn't born, B.C. wouldn't apply to them. Also, parentheses in this section refer to Lucca's thoughts as she reads)

_Magical feedback, also known as the rebuff of magic, is a term coined by the Master of War, Spekkio. In this extremely rare condition only one person is known to have this, the magic in the veins of the afflicted begins to combust and release large amounts of energy uncontrollably. This energy may cause discomfort at first, but then proceeds to enhance the cells of the victim. (_Why do they keep saying 'victim?'_) This leads to an increase strength and dexterity, as well as stamina and any other attribute in the person. They may begin to grow hair and bone density at an uncontrollable rate for a few weeks before the rate of growth begins to slow down. The combustion of the magic causes the magic's potency to increase 50-fold, though this has yet to be proven. All of the data presented above is based on tests of the sole individual suffering from this: Princess Schala._

_This unusual malady first gripped the Princess on the eve of her 16th birthday. (_I'm 16 now…Is this a coincidence?) _A group of ambassadors sent to the central Earthbound hive (_Hive? What, are they insects now?)_ had been attacked by a mammoth on their way to the Skygate. This mammoth seemed immune to even their spells, and they all suffered injury. One of these ambassadors, Lord Fhystoriax, was killed, and the others severely injured. Princess Schala, the leading ambassador to the Earthbounds, managed to drive off the creature with a fire spell that went awry, but served its purpose none-the-less. When she was hospitalized for several wounds on her torso and two broken limbs, the Princess awoke the next day without a single scratch. Our healers had not applied any healing spell to her. Her highness Queen Zeal personally inspected her daughter to make sure of her well-being; it was through this inspection that her Majesty noticed Schala's unusual growth in height. Thus, it was discovered._

_There was an old myth long since disregarded that referred to such a condition as this. It stated that only two people would ever have this syndrome, and they would be polar opposites. One would be benefited positively, while the other would be affected in the inverse. One would use their newfound power for good, while their counterpart would use it for evil. Though the myth was vague See _Myths and Legends of Zeal, Vol. XXXVII_, we are convinced that Schala is the first of the two individuals mentioned here. The second has yet to be discovered. The myth goes on to say…_

Lucca suddenly stopped reading when she felt dozens of pairs of eyes on her. She stood up, unsure of why so many people would be bowing and staring at her. But then again, after reading part of that book (the constant references to victims, illnesses, syndromes, and whatever else didn't help), Lucca was shaken up and didn't feel like thinking. She spun on her heel, only to meet the blue eyes on someone. Namely her Majesty herself, Queen Zeal.

* * *

**Date: 12005 B.C.**

**

* * *

**

The last time Lucca had seen this woman, Queen Zeal was intent on ending her life upon the Black Omen. And now, she was face-to-face with the monarch, who seemed to be smirking for no apparent reason. She wore the royal crest of Zeal upon her back, along with a robe that could feed 1000 times the population of Truce. Her blue hair was tied up in a bun that was held by an odd type of wreath; otherwise, two long bangs hung down her face. She stood slightly taller than Lucca (who was already quite tall) and locked eyes with her as if in a wordless battle. Lucca didn't know what to do or say, but looking at that face brought back bad memories. Lucca could suddenly see the Black Omen's massive black frame blocking the sun; she remembered destroying the guard spheres at the Omen's entrance; she remembered every corrupted creature that had tried to fell her, Crono, and Marle. She remembered the Mammon Machine trying to kill all of them as it sucked their very essence into it to do battle, and worse of all, she remembered the very same woman standing before her transforming into a disembodies face with two disembodied hands, intent on killing three teenagers for the sake of Lavos' awakening. Zeal had been the orchestrator of the latter part of Lucca's previous adventure; had it not been for the queen mindlessly seeking power, Crono would not have lost his life on that day. In fact, Magus would have never experienced such torture as being separated from his beloved sister for decades. Gaspar would never have to spend eternity watching over hapless travelers such as Lucca herself. But then again, had it not been for Queen Zeal, Gaspar would have never been there to offer them advice and the means of awakening the magic in them through Spekkio.

As a queen, Zeal opted her subject to bow whenever she was near. Lucca had been the sole member of that room to not do so, and had even committed the capital offense of looking at her Majesty straight in the eye as if they were equals. Lucca suddenly thought of Khadgara's advice, to always hug when you mean friendship, and to warmly accept any embraces that come your way. But hugging the sovereign would practically be suicide. Besides, after the atrocities Zeal had committed, Lucca felt dirty just looking at her. What was she to say? How are you, I forgive you for dooming your family to sorrow so you can covet that overgrown porcupine? That would certainly get her evicted out of Zeal, or killed if her Majesty was in a bad mood. Suddenly, without warning, Lucca felt an arm slip around her slender waist, and felt this same arm pull her close to a certain person's warm body. This snapped her out of her frantic search for something to say to the queen, but vexed her that someone was groping her at such a time. When Lucca looked at her assailant's face, she saw a handsome Zealian young man with blue hair and features familiar to Lucca, though she couldn't quite place them. Before she could slap his teeth out of his mouth, he began speaking.

"Forgive my wife, your majesty. She is still quite young, and was so enthusiastic about her studies that she didn't become aware of your coming." He said. Queen Zeal gave a sly smile that made her look even more imposingly Junoesque.

"Your wife, Khadgar? She is quite a pretty one, though I haven't seen one resembling her around here. How old is she?" Lucca almost sighed when she heard the boy's name. With a sister such as that, it was no wonder Khadgar had no self-restraint when it came to proclaiming strangers as his wife. Then, Lucca almost blushed when she heard Queen Zeal complementing her beauty. This was quite flattering, considering the last thing Lucca had heard Zeal say was "You pathetic wretch!" right before Crono buried his sword into her disembodied skull.

"She is not yet nineteen." He answered plainly. Queen Zeal then turned her head to face Lucca, the same annoying smile adorning her flawless face. Lucca shrunk under her deep blue eyes; she looked like a little child in them, crying out for her mother as a bully advanced on her to steal her comb.

"Can you join me outside in at the day's end? I would like very much to get acquainted with you." Her Majesty asked Lucca. Lucca nodded meekly.

"Y-ye-y-yes, your Majesty." Lucca said, stuttering wildly as she tried to sound as humble as possible. Queen Zeal nodded to her, before walking off into the dining area.

* * *

**Date: 12005 B.C.**

**

* * *

**

** WHAM!**

Khadgar reeled back as he felt Lucca's fist impact with his cheek. Magical feedback had made Lucca exceptionally strong, as shown by her wrenching the sealed drawer open back at her house. This display was no less spectacular as the man nearly flew into a table. Lucca was fuming at being put on the spot, especially by Khadgara's brother. And of all the nerve…the only person that was allowed to do such a thing without her consent would be Crono. She advanced on him like a lion stalking a gazelle. Poking a finger in his chest, Lucca bellowed,

"I AM NOT, NEVER WAS, AND NEVER WILL BE YOUR WIFE, LET ALONE TOUCH YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" A good number of people turned to look at the source of the obscenity that had reached their ears.

"I beg to differ…" He muttered in amusement. Lucca swung at him again, not caring if she caved in his skull. This time, he leaned back slightly, making Lucca lose her balance at the exertion and fall forward. Naturally, Khadgar caught her in his arms and brought his lips to her ear, before whispering:

"I like my women feisty." This was the last straw for Lucca. She pushed him off with unbelievable strength, making him practically fly into a bookcase. Without thinking logically, Lucca started muttering under her breath as balls of fire protruded from her palm. If she couldn't cave his head in, she would at least burn it.

"Stop it this instant!" An unknown voice called. Lucca looked towards in direction to see Schala Zeal advancing towards them. Lucca's heart almost jumped into her throat. Schala had been missing for years after she rescued Magus, Marle, and Lucca from Lavos. Lucca was about to run at the Princess and hug her, pouring tears on the Zealian's shoulder, when she realized that Schala didn't know her in this time.. The princess wore dark purple and blue robes, and wore her hair in the exact same way her mother did. She had a very stern look on her face, which served its purpose of stopping Lucca from setting Khadgar on fire. Schala had some kind of aura around her that gave her a pristine beauty, the type that inspired adoration in total strangers. Schala was loved by everything and everyone. No Earthbound could slander her (though very few slandered, as they accepted their inferiority), and certainly no fellow Zealian.

"Schala! What are you doing here?" Khadgar said, getting back up on his feet and smiling, something that made him look an awful lot like his sister.

"Khadgar, why have you been bothering this poor girl? And in the most indecent way, too!" Schala scolded as she glared at him. Khadgar scratched the back of his neck and chuckled weakly before turning towards Lucca.

"I'm sorry, miss. It's just, your magnificent beauty drew me to you. I couldn't resist!" He said. Lucca, who had been speechless ever since Schala showed up, couldn't help but blush deeply. "Let's start over, shall we. I'm Khadgar." He said, extending his hand

"I-I'm Lucca. Nice to meet you…" Lucca said timidly, the rage previously in her voice now completely gone. She took Khadgar's hand and shook it firmly, delving into his soul by looking at his eyes. _He seems innocent and pure-hearted, and his advances were justified. No one can resist MY beauty after all, right? Haha!_ Lucca thought proudly. She hadn't looked in a mirror at all since leaving Khadgara's cabin, so really had no idea if running through a gigantic library looking for a single book made her any sexier. Odd.

* * *

Done. I only edited the first two thousands words on this chapter, because I find the rest to be adequate. Besides, the revisions I made were only some bigger words here or there. Nothing major. R&R.

I'm also surprised as to how cheesy and cliché some of the things I wrote were. Granted, mot of these chapters are almost a year old, and I wasn't as experienced at writing as I am now, but it still shocks me.


	6. Encounters

8/2/05 Chapter 6. For the sake of authenticity, I'm not going to change anything in the chapter, except for whatever grammar mistakes I pick up. That's because there isn't anything anything I need to add, so why bother? Might as well upload asap.

Disclaimer: I do not own CT, only the original characters in this story.

** Date: 12005 B.C.**

"Hello, your Majesty." Lucca muttered humbly, facing the monarch, and bowing her head. The situation was more mortifying than it was awkward; Lucca didn't think she would ever have to see her Majesty again, but being in such close proximity of the latter only added to Lucca's anxiety. Queen Zeal smiled, placed her hand on Lucca's chin, and lifted it so she could look into the inventor's eyes. Lucca, paralyzed with fear, did not jerk back, but only stared into Queen Zeal's face, peering into the Queen's eyes. They were somber and blue, almost like a pool of murky water; yet, the blue fluctuated between a light sky blue to the deepest shade of turquoise Lucca had ever seen. All this, set against an imposing smile on the Queen's countenance, frightened Lucca even more. She could see herself in the Zealian's pupils, small and harmless, easily killed like the rest that Queen Zeal had murdered.

"Sit down, please." Queen Zeal answered, motioning Lucca to a chair. They were inside her Majesty's chambers in Kajar. Another deviation from the narrative must be made here, for the nature of Queen Zeal's quarters were something to be expounded upon. Queen Zeal had quarters in each of the three cities in Zeal Kingdom (Enhasa, Kajar, and the capital, Zeal), and as expected, they were each the size of a small province and decorated with the most exquisite items possible. There was velvet, silk, gold, platinum, all other precious metal Lucca had ever known, along with a fine helping of mithril, whose rarity has already been discussed. All for this mad woman. Lucca almost cursed herself for coming to this place. She had seen all the pain the Queen had inflicted, seen Janus' transformation into a killer, fueled by the loss of his sister and his home. It wasn't very surprising then, that she couldn't help but hate the woman asking her to be seated, no matter how much logic reminded Lucca that Queen Zeal hadn't committed any atrocities yet, and no matter how many times she reminded herself that she should have been executed on the spot for standing and looking at the Queen directly in the eye, regardless of its unintention. Lucca sat down, hiding her detestation unsuccessfully.

"You seem troubled. Is there something wrong?" The Queen asked with sophisticated poise, sitting opposite to Lucca. The latter jumped at the Queen's question. Could the sovereign of Zeal read minds, or was Lucca just not very good at hiding her thoughts? The latter seemed truer, though Lucca did n.

Lucca stammered for a second, looking for an excuse. When she couldn't find one, Lucca blushed and stared at the ground. Zeal continued to smile, as she always did, for some reason. And she never seemed joyful as that daunting grin adorned her face; just superior and haughty, the way a master chess player smiles when he knows he has a guaranteed checkmate in three moves, and the opponent doesn't know it. Yet, one could not accuse her of that, because she had sacrificed so much for her people to live the lives they lived now. Furthermore, it seemed she always smiled that way, not unlike the way Lucca cackled deviously even when she had no devious plot in mind, so there was no reason to blame her for ulterior motives.

"Well then. What is your name?" Queen Zeal asked. Her grin disappeared and was replaced by a curious expression. When Lucca finally looked up from the designs in the carpeted ground, Zeal gave an expression of relief, appearing more motherly than any image of the Virgin Mary. Lucca lost all her dislike for the Queen at that moment. Maybe she wasn't such a bad person after all?

"M-my name is Lucca. Queen Zeal, I presume?" Lucca asked. The Queen laughed softly.

"Is there anyone who does not know my name? Sometimes, I wish I were one of the masses. Then I wouldn't have so much responsibility." Lucca raised an eyebrow at this. "So, Lucca, where are you from?" Lucca frowned. She was reluctant to tell Zeal of her origins, even though it would make no difference. Maybe, she could act as though she was from these islands.

"I am from Enhasa. My family has been there for seven generations. I am the first to venture out of it." Lucca said, trying to sound as truthful as possible. Queen Zeal grinned and got up.

"I _would_ believe you, but Enhasa was built five generations ago. 3500 years ago, to be exact." Lucca groaned inwardly. Why did her lies always get exposed? "Now, where are you really from?" There was no point being dishonest now.

"I will be born about 13000 years from now. Zeal Kingdom ceased to exist by some catastrophe-," Lucca shut up almost immediately when she saw Queen Zeal frown. Her blue eyes demanded Lucca to continue, but Lucca excluded the fact that her Majesty had brought Lavos' wrath upon her people. "Anyway, I was attacked by some monsters one day, and some kind of freak accident occurred, and my magical powers spun out of control. I used my time machine to get to Kajar and research what was wrong." For the first time since Lucca's initial visit here, she saw Queen Zeal confused.

"How is it that you possess magic if Zeal was destroyed? The Earthbounds have not even an ounce of magic in them!" Lucca regretted telling the truth that time. If she gave out any vital information, Queen Zeal may not summon Lavos. But that would mean that Zeal Kingdom would still exist. But then, there would be no Telepod because of the focus of magic rather than technological advancement, and Lavos would never be discovered until its arrival in 1999 A.D. And with no Earthbound domes, the human race would die out! Lucca thought all of this quickly, and didn't realize that she had spent almost 5 minutes silent while the Queen awaited an answer.

"Well!" Lucca jumped, being snapped out of her thoughts.

"There were survivors. They must have mated with Earthbounds somewhere in my ancestry." Lucca answered plainly. Zeal was still flustered, and somewhat angry.

"Ancestry? Then how would you know of this said catastrophe? Is this some sort of story passed down through generations, or something? What are you even doing here? Sabotaging us, perhaps? Are you the catastrophe!" Zeal asked, frustrated at Lucca's declaration that the Queen hard-earned dominion would be annihilated. Lucca punched herself inwardly. She couldn't let this conversation go on, or something could change in the course of history. There was too much of a risk. A plan suddenly formulated in Lucca's mind, and she smirked. Upon seeing Queen Zeal's eyes narrow at her display of pleasure, Lucca felt sick.

"Your Majesty, you are more gullible than I thought!" Lucca said, faking amusement. Queen Zeal stood up abruptly, obviously furious and confused.

"What are you talking about!" Lucca looked down like a scared child, but could help but smile at her Majesty's expense. "Speak, you fool!" the monarch said, her voice rising. Lucca felt an urge to hide herself, but for her scheme to work, she would need to summon a fabricated impression of confidence.

"I was only testing you, your Majesty. I live in Kajar, and I fell across a book that was ominously geared towards me, almost as if I was destined to read it. You startled me when I turned around, that is all. You should have seen the look on your face!" Lucca chuckled, honestly amused at both her success in sounding realistic, and at Queen Zeal fuming. She hated the Zealian so much that any thing bothering the monarch was a plus in Lucca's eyes.

"Do not dare attempting such pleasantries in my presence, or I will have you executed." Queen Zeal said, her voice colder than the ice covering the Earth's surface. Lucca felt a lump in her throat and realized the seriousness of her statements. A prophecy of Zeal's destruction to a Zealian, particularly the ruler of the kingdom, was certainly not amusing. Lucca bowed down and began asking for pardon. The Queen's tone as she threatened Lucca was the most frightening thing Lucca had ever experienced. Well, besides the video of Lavos violating the Earth in the year 1999 A.D.

"I-I am sorry." The Queen said, walking towards a window. Lucca rose to her feet, and stared with amazement at the back of Zeal's head. She expected her Majesty to execute her right then and there. Maybe she did have a soul.

"No, no, it was my fault. Such a joke is extremely inappropriate." Lucca said, sincerity in her voice.

"It's just that…I've sacrificed so much for my people. I always dread what would happen if Zeal was destroyed." A pause. "Enlightened Ones, they know nothing of survival. They can't even light a match without magic. But we have gone too far to relearn these basic skills. We depend of magic too much, so much that I fear a new source will need to be found. The Sun Palace by itself is not enough." Lucca gasped, but placed a hand over her mouth so the Queen couldn't hear her. The need for energy is what drew the Queen to build the Undersea Palace and awaken Lavos, thereby destroying her kingdom. How ironic…

"Please forgive me. I was extremely inconsiderate." Lucca said meekly. The Queen turned around, smiling her normal smile to Lucca's relief. She walked up to Lucca and started talking again.

"So, what book were you reading?" The Queen asked, changing the topic. Lucca grinned herself, glad that that episode was over. She felt a bit sorry for Zeal, now that she knew the torture the monarch went through, knowing that the magic the Enlightened Ones relied upon so much would eventually be their downfall. Regardless, she could never forgive the monarch for what she had done, regardless of what torment Queen Zeal endured.

"It was a book on magical feedback. I am suffering from a condition much like the one described in that book." Lucca said. She sat down again, and the Queen followed her example.

"How old are you?" Lucca didn't find this question completely unexpected. After all, the primary symptom of magical feedback was looking older than you really were. Unfortunately, Lucca had no idea how old a typical Zealian teenager was. If 5 generations of Enlightened Ones spanned 3500 years, the life expectancy must have been over a millennium! The magic sustained even the aging of these people.

"I-I'm 16 years old." Lucca stuttered, unable to think of an appropriate lie. To her relief, Zeal's expression did not change. The fabrication was realistic, at least.

"You look far past your years." The Queen commented plainly. Lucca nodded, and looked down, glancing at her nails. They were extremely long, even though she had cut them in Khadgara's cave, that morning. Looking out the window from the corner of her eye, Lucca noted that it was dusk.

"Show me some magic." Queen Zeal said, snapping Lucca out of her thoughts again. Lucca blinked.

"Pardon me?" Lucca said. She pretended as if she didn't her the question, when she really felt anxiety over Queen Zeal's sudden request. Maybe she was becoming paranoid…

"A spell. Of some kind." Her Majesty added. Lucca nodded, inwardly annoyed and yet desperately wanted to please. As long as she avoided execution. She had come a bit too close last time.

Walking to the middle of the room, Lucca closed her eyes and felt the magic roar in her veins. The intricate robes began to levitate from the expenditure of energy, and Lucca's long hair because to lift as well. A light coating of embers surrounded her, and her eyes began glowing red, the color of fire. Queen Zeal looked pleased, standing across the room and sighing. Lucca ignored her, her thoughts completely turned towards her display. She felt an unusual sense of elation every time she did this, more so than any other spell, almost as if chains binding her ankles were suddenly broken. Lucca opened her, a wide grin adorning her gorgeous features. The embers turned into a full-fledged flame, all of it flowing towards her right arm. She drew her palm out, the nimble fingers surging with magic. Without any thought, Lucca thrusted her palm into the ground, and drew an intricate crest on the ground with her index finger.

"Quite impressive. I assume you are gearing up for the grand finale?" Queen Zeal said, yet it all sounded distant in Lucca's ears. She looked at her crests, smiling maniacally, her eyes glowing bright red, flickering as if on fire themselves. The natural glow has disappeared, and a remote rumble shook the room. Seconds later, a pillar of flame arose from the carpet, vaporizing it and heading for the ceiling in its path of destruction. The pillar engulfed Lucca, who was laughing inside of it idiotically. Before colliding with the dome above the two women, however, the pillar turned ice-blue, it's temperature falling to a horribly low temperature. Three seconds later, the pillar shattered and turned into shards of hail all over the ground. Lucca looked around in bewilderment, trying to find what had shut her spell down. Queen Zeal was the culprit, apparently; she had her arm extended to where the ice has first assailed Lucca's pillar.

"Remarkable. Simply remarkable." Queen Zeal said, clapping softly and walking towards Lucca. Lucca was confused and slightly dizzy from her exertion, falling forward and being caught by the monarch, who led her back to her chair. "Though you should be less reckless." Lucca had heard that one before and grinned at the familiarity. She wondered how Khadgara was at the moment. No doubt still guarding that cave, not seeing any sign of life for hours at a time. And her brother would probably be harassing someone else in Kajar.

"Lucca, let me propose an offer." Queen Zeal said after Lucca had seated. Lucca raised her eyebrows lazily. She was still exhausted from her effort. "How about I train you in the arts of magic? You seem to have quite a lot of potential, power that should be harnessed, and not left to waste." Lucca sat up, and looked intently at the Queen's face, waiting for her to continue. "What say you? I'm sure it will be quite an experience." Lucca smiled lightly, spotting no malice in Her Majesty's tone.

"Of course. I would think well of this!" Lucca answered gleefully.

** Date: 12005 B.C.**

Lucca dragged her feet across the open fields, heading for a place to get some sleep. Considering there were no records of her living in Kajar as she had claimed, Lucca had a tough time convincing the queen that she was a native. In the end, however, Queen Zeal gave Lucca a signed document practically forcing the residential directors in Kajar to give Lucca a room. Along with this document was a list of books that Lucca would need to read before her training begun in a week.

"Great, just great. I'm back in elementary school. With my own private tutor, to top it all off." Lucca said to no one in particular. She and her Majesty had met in the adjoining mansion of an eloquent courtyard in the recesses of Kajar, so Lucca was stuck with a five-mile walk back to the main ground. She was tired enough as it was from trying to show off, and the added strain on her legs wouldn't help.

"I wonder what the witch is going to teach me. Probably how to invoke Lavos, or a procedure for massacre through the Mammon Machine." Lucca muttered cynically. But then again, there was no Mammon Machine yet. The plans for that would come in a few years.

"C'mon Lucca, you're being too hard on her. The poor lady has a lot of responsibility on her shoulders." Lucca said out loud, once again. There was no one around for miles, being as no Zealian could enter the Queen's residence without an appointment. That gave Lucca a sense of security, considering she was badmouthing their matriarch.

"Bullshit," Lucca answered to herself. She knew she was exaggerating in her attacks. Queen Zeal really did have a lot of responsibility, particularly having to quench her people's constant thirst for magic. As if they didn't have enough magic to begin with…

"I think the lack of sleep is making you cranky." Lucca's reasonable side said matter-of-factly.

"Shaddup…" Lucca said. She could see the large gate that would lead her into the main grounds, and the soft bed that would carry her away to a land of dreams.

"You really are tired, glorifying sleep that much. 'A land of dreams?' How fruity."

"Why are you still here? Go away!" Lucca said, more annoyed than angry. She said down for about a minute to catch her breath; her desire to repose had made her pick up her pace.

"Unfortunately, I can't do that. And don't worry about the lessons either. I bet Queen Zeal can teach you a thing or two about fire." Lucca said softly. She got back on her feet and resumed her walk towards the city gates.

"Yeah, she'll show me how to burn Earthbound villages."

"She did no such thing!"

"Good point."

"Sometimes, I can't believe I'm you. It seems so awkward. You are the most ungrateful person in existence."

"That's because I'm tired."

"So what? That's no reason to slander her Majesty!"

"So, sucking up to her already, you traitor?"

"What do you mean? I'm you! YOU'RE SUCKING UP TO HER!"

"Don't try that reverse psychology crap, I practically invented it…"

"And you are me, so I invented it! Ha, take that!"

"I need to get to sleep soon so you can shut it."

"…I'll be back!"

** Date: 12005 B.C.**

After retrieving her robes and a few pointless items (namely the holster for her Wondershot, which was still laying on the ground somewhere, Lucca had finally reached her destination: the room given to her by her majesty. Ironically, the definition of "room" in Zeal was the equivalent of the Mayor's Mansion in Porre. House here meant castle in Guardia.

"Finally, for some shut – HOLY-!" Lucca gasped. Having expected a small wooden chamber with an adjoining bathroom (Lucca took it to her head that the Queen was out to make her miserable), she was stunned when she saw a waterfall with massive trees everywhere. Her bed was about the size of a room, and she had natural sunlight for a lamp. It must have been one of those enchanted ceilings again.

"You see, her Majesty wants you to be comfor-" Lucca's reasonable side said unexpectedly.

"Hopefully, when I wake up, I will not hear voices in my head!" Lucca said out loud, making her seem insane. She had always been a bit on the insane side, what with her different moods popping up and talking to her, though she was nowhere near schizophrenic. For some reason, the desire to sleep always spawned a conversation with herself.

"Fine, fine. I'll go join the rest of you like a repugnant slave." Lucca's sensible side said. Lucca grinned.

"Good girl…" That being done, Lucca splashed some water on her face, waking her up enough to get rid of her amicable friend's yapping. Looking about the room, she came to the conclusion that it was a result of magic, like everything else no doubt. The waterfall seemed to come from some imaginary cliff, though none could be seen, and the roots of the various trees stopped halted their growth exactly on the doorway.

Lucca went over the list of books required to read, and noticed that she had 25 books assigned to her. Queen Zeal had taken the liberty of listing the number of pages they had as well, which came out to, on average, 1000 pages. Throwing the list down on the bed, Lucca continued to look around the room. There seemed to be no mirror, a major insurgence in Lucca's efforts to blend in with the rest of Zeal Kingdom.

"What kind of idiot would go through all the effort making waterfalls and not put a mirror?" Lucca said in irritation. Well, at least she was going to live in here rather than on the surface. As Lucca turned towards her bed, intent on recuperating all the energy she wasted impressive Zeal's monarch, a gleam caught her eye, and she spotted a mirror laying against a tree. It was about 7 feet tall, in a wide oval shape, and adorned with various designs etched in silver.

"I guess I have my mirror after all…"

I finished this story 10 days late… Sorry everyone. You see, I have to be in the right mood to write well, and any time I'm in this mood, something comes up, and by the time I'm done with that something, I'm not on a roll anymore…Chapter 7 should be done soon, though!

R&R! Next chapter, Lucca starts her training. That should be fun!


	7. Ostentation

Once again, Chapter 7, unedited. There's not much to change, so why bother? I would personally prefer it if I could revamp this story with the flourish and excessive description of the first few chapters (because that's sexy writing XD), but that would take a long time. Anyway, without further ado, Chapter 7. Please read and review, and I'm glad to see you've resurfaced, Helldragon.

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I do not own Chrono Trigger, only the original characters in this fanfic. The rest is © Square Enix.

**_ Date???_**

****

****_I could see…him._

_ He stood overlooking the sea. Our sea. He held his katana to his side, and stood dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. Yet he never fell. Even if there was no ground for him to stand on, he would never fall._

_ His red hair billowed in the wind. His bandana would have been doing the same, but he abandoned it long ago; it was a symbol of his youth._

_ I could see him getting closer. Yet his feet did not move. Not even an inch; I was the one moving. I approached him and took hold of his hand. He did not need to turn his head, for he knew it was I. He sat on the edge of that cliff, the wind blowing, and beckoned me to sit beside him. I could see myself just then, as I sat at his side, our legs dangling over the rocks below._

_ His lips moved, and he ran his hand over my belly. Just then did I notice what was on my stomach…rather, what was in it. It was swelling to the point that I would be unrecognizable except for my purple hair. I saw myself answer to him, yet no sound appeared. All I heard was the crashing of the waves below. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him, to the point that I could see myself clearly in his emerald eyes. He kissed me on the lips, and drew his own to my ear. Finally, I was hearing what he had to say. He said,_

_ "_Wake up, sleepyhead!"

I saw no reason why he would be saying that. After all, I was wide awake, and it was clearly visible to him. He rested his face in the crook between my collarbone and neck, slowly sucking it, before running his tongue down my collarbone to my shoulder. I giggled crazily as he performed his antics. His lips came once again to my eye, and he whispered,

_ "_**WAKE UP!"**

Lucca's eyes fluttered open, and what she saw was much more different that what she had just seen. A blue-haired, blue-eyed girl was standing over her, smiling vibrantly. Behind the girl were trees. Large, beautiful trees, each one filtering the sun and cooling the ground where she lay. This would have been paradise at any other moment, but after losing what she sought so dearly…

"What…do you think…you are doing?" Lucca said coldly. Khadgara grinned and pulled Lucca up by her arm. "Let me go, I'm still tired." Lucca growled.

"Regardless of what you may think, you have a lot of work ahead of you." Khadgara said, still sounding cheerful. The atmosphere in the residential section Kajar could easily cheer even Magus up. And Magus was _always_ in a bad mood. Guess whose fault…

"What are you talking about? And aren't you supposed to be guarding a cave?" Lucca said, being pulled up out of bed again. Lucca looked around the room for her unwanted companion, but she had disappeared. Lucca felt a few newly fallen leaves on her head; looking up, she spotted the Zealian floating aimlessly near the canopy of trees. Levitation, something Lucca had only dreamed of before

"You need to learn how to do this. Among other things," said the Lieutenant. "Queen Zeal assigned me to oversee your studies." Lucca grimaced. She was quite fed up of being treated like a child by her Majesty, even though the latter was a good 4000 years older than her.

"And that includes waking me up in the morning?" Lucca said, clearly pissed off. Such a good dream, but was it just that, or an omen? A vision perhaps.

"Irritable, aren't we? You've been sleeping for 3 three days. I came back from that cave a while ago." Lucca was surprised by that answer. Had that spell really taken that much out of her? She had used it a handful of times before, and it never had such an impact. "As I said, I have the responsibility of assisting you with any things you may have trouble with, as well as supervising the fact that all your literary prerequisites are met." Khadgara said, coming back to the ground. She proceeded to snag a robe from the branch where Lucca had hung them the day before and laid it on the bed.

"Why you…?" Lucca muttered, pulling the covers back over her head. They were promptly ripped off. Khadgara's smile faded.

"Because I have met you before, and I am your neighbor." She said, slightly irritated. "Now, don't test my patience. I have better things to do then drag you out of bed." Lucca got the message from her tone, and punctually rose from the soft mattress. Still drowsy and ponderous from her odd dream, Lucca inadvertently put on a red robe with purple sleeves and a slitted bottom. She hadn't noticed that she was still wearing yesterday's clothing.

"You haven't noticed yet that you were wearing something while you slept?" Khadgara said impatiently. Lucca suddenly realized the unnatural warmth and heaviness of her clothing, and discovered her blunder.

"So what?" She said brazenly. Khadgara narrowed her eyes, and Lucca quickly corrected it.

** Date: 12005 B.C.**

"Haven't these people noticed that I am NOT a child?" Lucca thought angrily, twirling a pencil in her hands. She had begun reading the first out of two dozens books required of her, and was only on page 200 out of 1200. She had the uncanny ability to remember an imprint of a page in her mind, so reading such a book was quite easy, but the three days erased from her allotted time due to that excessively long slumber would mean extra hard work and no play. Not that she played anyway.

"Haven't you noticed that you live to 60 and they live to 2000?" She answered to herself. Lucca frowned and dropped the topic. She was a child in everyone's eyes, at least here. Had she been in Truce at the moment, it would have been no different, except that she was well known as a genius and inventor. Here, she was nobody. The lack of attention was excruciating. Turning her eyes back to the book, titled: "Magic Theory and the Principle of Influx", Lucca began to read:

_Chapter 12: Magic as an Essence._

_ Magic is in all things, and likewise, all things are manifestations of magic. The one exception to this is living organisms. They are not made of magic, per se, but rather from proteins and other organic compounds, running on the chemical impulses created as a result of the catalyzation of outside resources. Thus, human beings, Enlightened and Earthbound alike, are not made of magic. However, Enlightened Ones are run on a combination of magic and these chemical reactions. _

_ Likewise, magic is polarized. It has a negative and positive version of itself, and can thus be attracted or repelled from any object. Enlightened Ones have a general charge of _xica, _the Zealian word of darkness. All other matter generally have a neutral charge .It is from this knowledge that we know how Enlightened Ones draw their magic; by polarizing the charge of the target object by even the slightest bit, then increasing the relative charge of themselves, Zealians are able to propel this essence in their body in any shape. The expelled magic is hit its target unless reflected (that is, the charge of the magic is reversed, and it heads towards its source instead.)_

_ It has been discovered that expulsed magic creates a gravitational center in itself as it is drawn to the target. Thus, as all laws of matter dictate that a sphere will be the most basic shape of magic in its crudest form. _

_Magic is all things, and magic is dynamic, able to take any form imposed on it. Thus, magic can essentially become anything as it is propelled from its owner. The differentiating factor is that it takes energy to change the form into what is desired, just as it takes energy for an Earthbound to push a boulder or to run any said distance. Thus, it takes repetitious practice in honing one's magical strength in order to handle the more difficult spells._

_With all of that aside, we must now analyze the ways in which its user directs magic. It is either a) exploded towards, b) imploded towards, or c) detonated in a general location. These will be discussed individually. The first of these methods of pro-_

Lucca's reading was abruptly halted when she felt a pair of hands caressing her shoulders. A free massage, just what she needed. That is, until she wondered who would do such a thing to a stranger. Turning her head around suddenly, she came to face the one and only Khadgar, who was grinning sheepishly and preparing for a pre-emptive strike, lest Lucca assaults him again.

"Didn't I tell you **NOT TO TOUCH ME ANYMORE!"** Lucca said, enraged. He kept smiling as he kneaded her now-tense trapezius. Not wanting to protest, (considering he was doing a good job), Lucca sat back down and let him do his work. "Do you always do this to people?"

"No, just you. Besides, you seemed stressed out. What's on your mind?" He asked. Though annoyingly intrusive, Khadgar's attempts at kindliness were quite touching.

"I have about 25000 pages to read in four days. I would have had a week, but I slept in." Lucca said calmly, silently relishing the massage. His hands were working magic. She noticed his surprise even though her back was turned.

"What kind of insane school do you go to? That's against the law!" He said, slightly amused. Lucca sighed. Reduced to being a schoolgirl now, wasn't she?

"Queen Zeal offered to give me private lessons of magic and magic spells. She said I had to read these books in preparation for my first lesson." Lucca said. Khadgar picked up one book out of the large stack lying in front of Lucca at that table. They were all basic documents of magic and its applications, in-depth essays about its presumed sources, and so on.

"Ehhh. I feel sorry for you." Khadgar said simply. Lucca frowned and eyed him questioningly. "She demands the utmost attention and respect, and she will not stop her annoying tirades until you faint of exhaustion."

"How do you know this, anyway?" Lucca asked indifferently. She wanted to finish her assignment so she could explore the city some more, but the thousands of pages she had to read were too imposing.

"Rumors, of course. Plus, she took Princess Schala through the same boot camp approach, and the poor girl couldn't even move, she was so drained." Khadgar said as if the Princess had passed away long ago or something. Lucca kept silent, wondering if she would suffer the same fate. Either way, her homework was calling her to it, but she wanted to procrastinate as long as her conscience allowed her.

"I met your sister." Lucca said out of nowhere. Khadgar nodded, his face not upturning as it usually did when he was going to speak. "Something wrong?"

"She's been quite selfish lately, clinging to some false sense of duty like a fanatic." Khadgar said, neither his expression nor his tone altered.

"What do you mean?" Lucca said, now quite curious. Khadgar ran his hand through his blue hair, and took a breath.

"She goes on military errands and slaves away unimaginable hours in the name of Zeal's defense, so much that we don't see her anymore than a few days per month. My parents are getting angry, as they wished for her to marry another councilman's son, but she refuses under the premise that the Kingdom will be vulnerable." Khadgar said. Lucca didn't even know Zeal Kingdom had a council. They surely had no decision-making power, and were just in place so that Queen Zeal wouldn't be labeled a despot. _There you go with that Zeal bashing again._

"How is that selfish? That's quite noble, in my opinion." Lucca said quizzically. Khadgar turned to face her, slightly amused.

"You don't seem to get it, do you? Zeal is indestructible right now, and will likely be in the future. There is no need for a defense force. It's just a disguise for her own ambition." Lucca couldn't help but smile ear to ear. This is exactly what everyone believed, and it is exactly how Lucca, Marle, and Crono barged through the entire kingdom and the Undersea palace as if it was child's play. Between now and the year 12000 B.C. when Lucca would visit this place for the first time, Khadgara had probably already settled down and started a family. That would explain why no one with a massive pike had tried to impale them on their journey to destroy the Mammon Machine. The irony was so thick, she could cut it with a knife.

Lucca thought about speaking up, but couldn't risk altering the future in the process. Instead she nodded and waited for him to continue. When he didn't speak, she rose to her feet.

"Don't worry. She'll see the light eventually." Lucca said reassuringly. Khadgar smiled softly, then walked away. "Where are you going?" Lucca called after him.

"Breakfast. Want to join me?" He asked. Lucca nodded, and forgot about the books she had been instructed to read.

Lucca and Khadgar had ordered food to eat in the eastern field of Kajar (well, Lucca hadn't ordered, since she had never heard of those things), and consequentially chose a spot hidden from the sun under one of the city's four towers. The entire course of breakfast had been particularly uneventful, considering Lucca was still trying to get over the food's delightful taste, horrendous smell, and even worse appearance. Meanwhile, Khadgar wondered why she had never eaten these before, since they were Zeal's staple food, but Lucca skillfully warded off any such questions.

"Umm…what are you doing?" Lucca asked Khadgar. He was staring at his fingertips, which were glowing blue. Upon acknowledging her question, the magic on his hands vanished, and he grinned slightly.

"Prepare to be amazed!" Khadgar said as the glow returned to his fingers. He pointed them towards the sky and dozens of small bolts of ice flew off his nails and into the bright sky. This continued until the bolts began to grow too large for fingertips, and the emerged from his palm. Eventually, he began to charge each bolt for a few seconds before throwing them, and wantonly hurled bolts of ice continuously to faraway clouds. He started to have a slightly blue glow as the bolts became larger and more powerful, until his pupils vanished, characteristic to such things. After throwing what seems like thousands of ice bolts around (which Lucca found quite fantastic), Khadgar's pupils returned, though the whitish glow remained around him.

"Wow…not bad!" Lucca said from her seat on the grass. Suddenly, a volley of the same bolts that had been propelled returned to their sender in a scattered matter. Khadgar threw his palm in the air and a blue shield erupted from his position and grew outward. The bolts collided with the shield and melted harmlessly until there was none left.

"Now you try." He said. Lucca scoffed.

"I can't do that. Besides, that's pointless and a waste of energy." She answered. Khadgar pulled her to her feet and prodded her towards the spot where he was standing. Lucca sighed, considering he wouldn't let her leave without some display of magic. "What am I supposed to do?" She asked.

"Something fancy. I'm sure you can do it. It's not that hard." He answered. Lucca cringed. Every time she had performed any spell in the past few days, she ended up unconscious, asleep, or both.

Closing her eyes, Lucca focused her magic into her right hand. Almost instantly, she started glowing, at first calmly with small embers randomly erupting from her skin. Soon, however, she was fully immersed in flames. Her hair rose out of its place inside the robe and floated in the air. Likewise, the robes began to lift, and Lucca hovered a few inches off the ground. An odd sense of happiness and pleasure came unto Lucca, and she smiled at first, then began smirking, and finally grinned maniacally. Slowly, her right hand began to glow burning red, while the glow that incased her dissipated. Inside her palm came a small red orb, barely the size of a grain of sand. However, it began growing until it reached the bulk of a child's ball. Before long, its diameter was about as long as Lucca was tall, and it was becoming hard to control it correctly.

"Lucca, don't you think you're overdoing it?" Khadgar exclaimed loudly, the wind blowing past his face, propelling his smooth hair backwards. Lucca continued to grin, and seemed not to hear him. The combined image of her upturned mouth, her hair flung backwards whipping serpentinely like a medusa and her slowly vanishing pupils made both Khadgar and the slowly amassing crowd recoil at her crazed appearance. The ball grew and began to sear the surrounding area with heat. The grass was unscathed, but the air burned and the familiar scent of smoke engulfed the surrounding area.

Using her left arm as leverage, Lucca drew her right back and thrust it forward, the ball following the laws of momentum and flying off towards the clouds.

Lucca fell to her knees and gasped for air. The elation was gone in an instant, and she was already beginning to feel weak. All around her, people had seen the ball of fire grow until it was the size of many men, and were now rushing to Lucca's aid, for fear that she might be cataleptic. As if on impulse, Lucca struggled to her feet, and wobbled lightly there, holding her palm out to stop Khadgar from holding her up.

"Hang on tight, everybody." Lucca said. The ball came back into view, a distant glow, until it was easily seen racing towards the islands. It was coming straight for Lucca, uncaring about what else what in the way, its target straight in its view. Lucca began to glow red again, and bent her knees slightly in anticipation. The orb had reached the fields now, and somehow didn't melt the grass, even thought its temperature reading must have been massive. In an extremely loud crash, Lucca pushed the ball away with her outstretched palms. Streaks of fire erupted from the meeting point of these two, and the crowd that had been gathering backed away. Lucca groaned as the ball pushed her again Kajar's walls, her footmarks leaving a trail in the greenery. She was being forced backwards so far that her back was flat against the solid bricks of Kajar's eastern parapet. With a sudden display of force, Lucca screamed "Begone!" and the sphere exploded. The resulting wind blew everyone away by many meters, though Lucca stood firmly against the wall, blown forcefully against the solid stone. Before long, the explosion receded, and only a slight smell of burned air remained. The glow around Lucca vanished, and she wasted no time in falling to her knees and going unconscious.

If only I could elaborate this scene, it would be wonderful. Alas, the carnage must come quickly. R&R.


	8. Exercise

Wow, it's been two months. Anyway, college is in a few months, so I better finish this before heading off. Expect rapid-fire chapters. All the chapters up to 15 are old, form last year. 15 begins my recent work.

** Date: 12005 B.C. **

The light shined brightly on her face, and in this way she woke. Looking at her surroundings, Lucca found herself back in her room. She had no idea how she had gotten there; only that she had expended ridiculous amounts of mana to both cast and destroy that ball. That would total to her fainting, what…four or five times? She was getting sick of waking up groggy and exhausted, drained of what little energy she has to begin with. Ever since the strange occurrences with the hair growth, strength, and the newfound potency of Lucca's magic, the slightest thing would fatigue her, and she couldn't keep her powers in check well enough to not lose consciousness after every other spell. Her reason told her that Queen Zeal's training would remedy this problem, while her brain told her to stay away, because the heavy-duty training Khadgar had told her about would just make her comatose more often.

"Ugh…my aching head." Lucca muttered to herself aloud. The artificial ceiling let vibrant light strike her visage once more, reminding her to get up.

"Next time, go easy on the demonstration." Lucca's sensible side chimed in unexpectedly. Lucca growled.

"I'm not in the mood for your machinations. Go back to your corner." Lucca said. Her alternate sighed and did as she was told. "What time is it, anyway?" Lucca asked herself, walking to the small pool at the bottom of the enchanted waterfall. She saw her reflection in the clear blue water; purple eyes, purple hair, a pale and tired face. The sun shone in the reflection, making it hard for Lucca to see anything clearly besides her dark eyes and hair. After splashing water on her face, she quickly changed into one of the blue robes she had recently picked up (there was no need for money, as everything was either made magically or by volunteers), which fit perfectly on her flimsy shoulders, unlike Khadgara's. Rubbing her temples, Lucca walked towards the door. Her head still ached painfully, even though it had dulled compared to before. She would need to ask the next person she crossed by what time it was.

"Excuse me, miss. Do you know what time it is?" Lucca asked a somewhat elderly lady. She smiled warmly and answered.

"Why, it is 2 o'clock." She answered. Lucca blinked. Two o'clock in the afternoon, since the sun was out. She rarely slept that late.

"Oh, aren't you the dear girl that her Majesty is expecting?" the lady added. Lucca nodded, though she didn't see how she was "expected". "Well then, good luck, and don't end up like the princess!" She said, walking away. Lucca shivered. More talk about the detriments of Zeal's training. She walked towards the closest cafeteria (it was more of an extremely giant restaurant; there were 30 located all throughout Kajar, used to service its thousands of people), when she stopped in mid-step and cringed. The books. She had forgotten the reading. Now, it was the next day. She had three days left.

"Oh, for the love of God…" Lucca muttered, turning around and rushing towards the desk where she had left the large volumes. It would be a trip of about 20 minutes running at the pace she was now, but added on to her hunger, it would not be a pleasurable experience.

"Lucca!" A voice called out about half-way through her sprint. Lucca jerked her head in the direction of the voice. It was Schala, walking energetically towards her in her milk-white silk robes. Her light blue eyes shone vibrantly and her equally flamboyant hair bounced up and down on her shoulders. She lifted one of her frail and delicate hands and waved at Lucca, who walked towards the Princess.

"Lucca, you're OK!" Schala chirped, sighing as if a great load had been taken off her shoulders. She gave the inventor a tight hug, releasing her embrace only after she had assured herself that Lucca was really standing there.

"Erm…of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Lucca asked in confusion. These Zealians always overdramatized things. Schala frowned, then grinned when she understood what was happening.

"Nobody must have told you yet. You fainted after that whole spectacle," Lucca nodded, still perplexed, "and you were knocked out for four whole days! We took you to the House of Healers, where we cast cure spells and fed you ether water constantly. You had lost so much mana that your body overheated and the blood ran too loosely." Lucca stared in amazement. Had it been that bad? She simply woke up with a headache and assumed that is was a simple case of overexertion that rest cured in a few hours. Lucca stared at the ground, thinking. If she tried a stunt like that one more time, they might now be able to revive her. And since when did people overheat from a simple spell? She had used it in her adventures with Crono and Marle countless times!

"Something's really wrong with me…" Lucca muttered under her breath, but Schala seemed to have heard her.

"What do you mean?" the princess asked with concern.

"I've used that spell more times than I can remember, but it never grew that destructive. And I never fainted. Now, I faint every other time I cast something!" Lucca mumbled in frustration. Schala nodded in understanding.

"Mother will help you with that. I had very much the same problem, and a few weeks of training remedied it easily. Speaking of which, she's waiting for you right now." Schala said. Lucca's eyes shot open. In addition to forgetting the book, she forgot what her books were in preparation for! Without any delay, she bid Schala farewell and darted towards the exercise fields a few miles outside the city where Queen Zeal would be waiting for her.

This place was a good ways from the city, with grass that was much shorter than the greenery in the courtyards and such of Kajar. This was probably because extremely tall grass would be an encumbrance to those that wanted to train. The blue hair and annoyingly confident and self-possessed smile easily separated the Queen from the rest of the people that trained in the part of the fields. That, and the fact that everyone bowed when the Queen came near them. She was pacing back and forth, apparently deep in thought, though she still smiled slightly. The wind was blowing lightly, and it must have been about 4 o'clock.

Lucca pondered the course of action. She could approach the Queen and act like she was still weak from the exhaustion; that would certainly invoke some pity. However, Lucca couldn't bring herself to acting as pathetic as was necessary to fool her majesty. Another possibility was to nonchalantly greet the Queen as if nothing had happened and she missed the previous day's lessons from forgetfulness. The confidence would be a good first impression, but the act altogether would be insolent and could strike the Queen as lack of interest rather than absentmindedness. Or, she could always run back to the surface, hop in the Epoch, and fly back. That was a last resort, though.

"Good afternoon, your Majesty." Lucca said humbly, bowing as was customary. Queen Zeal's back had been turned, but she acknowledged Lucca completely. Turning around, Lucca noted, quite relieved, that the Queen did not appear the least bit angry at her tardiness today and complete absence the day before.

"Good afternoon, Lucca. You are late." She answered prosaically, her tone remaining the same. Lucca nodded slightly, but did not speak as she wanted to. She was about to scream out, "I WAS ALMOST DEAD, STUPID!", but that would be bad.

"I will allow for it today because of the predicament you were in, but any more tardiness will count greatly again you, understand?" Queen Zeal said, already sounding like a schoolteacher. At least she knew what had happened. It would save Lucca to time of explaining.

"Yes." Lucca answered, standing up straight. She waited for Queen Zeal to speak again.

"First, you will be tested on the books you were assigned. First question-" Queen Zeal stopped when she saw Lucca fidgeting. She eyed Lucca curiously but with an expression that one wears when they've asked a question but know the answer. Lucca sighed and stared at the ground.

"I never got to finishing those books, your Majesty." She didn't bother mentioning the whole episode with the fireball and such. She was gulping inwardly, awaiting what evil thing the Queen would do as a penalty.

"Your very first day, and you haven't even finished the first assignment. I expected more from you, Lucca." Queen Zeal said calmly, though her uncaring tone kept Lucca on edge. She thought the monarch would be angry, or at least annoyed for having her time wasted. "You do realize that you will be punished?" She asked, again as if knowing the answer. What other answer could Lucca give, anyway.

"Yes…" Lucca said, her voice trailing off. Of all the bad things in life, getting punished by Queen Zeal would probably be the worst. Not that she had gone through it or anything, but the Queen's lunacy, especially after Lavos' awakening, suggested that her "punishments" would be particularly gruesome.

"Well, you're not." Queen Zeal said in the same tone. Lucca wasn't sure she had heard right.

"I-I'm not?" Lucca asked. Her Majesty shook her head, and smiled warmly.

"I knew you wouldn't do it. I wasn't expecting you to either. I didn't give you enough time. No one can read that fast, not even me. Besides, this class isn't about where magic came from or who was the first to use it for this or that. So, you can say I assigned it for fun, just to make you stressed." She answered. Lucca smiled slightly at her good fortune. Maybe, just maybe, the Queen had some decency in her. Or maybe it was just a plan to lull Lucca into burning Earthbound homes. _SHE DID NO SUCH THING_, Lucca's sensible side screamed out of nowhere. It was promptly silenced.

"Well then…from what I've seen, your main fault is that you spend too much energy pointlessly. You are still inexperienced, and as such, don't have a vast supply as Schala or myself do. So conservation is essential." Queen Zeal said. Lucca growled slightly at being called inexperienced. Little did Zeal know that she would get her butt kicked by the very person she called inexperienced, sometime in the near future. The degradation was unbearable, but so ironic it was almost laughable.

"Right."

"The first way to do this is to spend small replenishable amounts slowly over a long period of time rather than one large expenditure all at once. This way, it is easier to stop and conserve whatever mana one has left. We'll be practicing that first." Queen Zeal stated simply, as a schoolteacher would do. Lucca nodded and rolled her eyes lightly. This was obvious, and there was no need to "review". A reprimanding glance from the Queen made Lucca stiffen and stand at attention again. Why did she have to be here? It was a warm and sunny day, complete with a light breeze and a cloudless sky, and Lucca would have much rather been enjoying herself, frolicking in the long grass of Kajar's fields, or even better, sleeping for days in her warm, forested room. She hadn't had any time to relax ever since she had come here, what with the huge elephant, saving Exholia from it, fighting that insane guard, trying to read the books for nothing, fainting more times than she could count. Just one day of sleeping, dreaming of anything she wished. Dreaming of home, dreaming of her parents, Lara and Taban. Dreaming of Marle, Melchior, Gato, and all her friends. Dreaming of **_him_**_-_

_ "_Are you listening?" Queen Zeal said angrily. Lucca blinked a few times before realizing she had been daydreaming. Her Majesty was clearly vexed.

"Lucca, I will tell you this now, and not once more. All of this is for your own good, and not mine. I am doing you a service, and I hope you will appreciate it enough to pay attention when I am talking!" She said, emphasizing the last few words so harshly that Lucca skulked backwards slightly. Queen Zeal returned to the stoic tone in which she was previously speaking. "Now then. For the next few weeks, you will go through the most intensive training you have ever experienced in your life. For the first few days, you will barely be able to walk, you'll be so drained. However, it is a small price to pay for the benefits of all of this. Understand?" Queen Zeal asked.

"Y-yes…" Lucca said reluctantly. Queen Zeal had been looking directly into Lucca's eyes as she answered, scaring the girl out of her wits. Of all things, Lucca hated lethargy and exhaustion the most. It simply detracted from life, made things sluggish and unbearable. Simply put, it was a waste of time. Thus, Lucca had been greatly angered after wasting nearly a week worth of time being unconscious and whatnot.

"Good. Remember, now, that your magic is like a muscle. You must constantly stretch it beyond its limit for it to improve, but not working it will make it stagnate and become weak." Queen Zeal said. Lucca nodded. "And now, for your first exercise." Lucca hadn't been paying particular attention, but she felt a small wave of mana flickering above her. When Lucca looked up, a sheet of ice was rising from the ground. It was blue and clear, flawless, but certainly not natural. Lucca couldn't tell, but it was at least 12 feet high, a foot thick and perhaps 6 feet wide. The wall was hanging in the air, swaying up and down slightly as if it was bored.

"What the…?" Lucca asked. Queen Zeal didn't answer. Instead, an ice block flew out of the wall and blasted Lucca with right in the chest, knocking her off her feet and into the soft grass. "What the hell…" Lucca muttered. Queen Zeal grinned slightly, stepping back to allow Lucca to deal with the large wall. Another chunk of ice, this time a spike, flew out of the wall towards Lucca, who was still on the ground. Lucca rolled to the side, missing getting impaled by a few centimeters.

"Come on now Lucca. Surely you can defend yourself better than that." Zeal said mockingly, looming over Lucca with her hands on her waist. Lucca got back on her feet and shook her head. A block of ice flew out once again. Lucca cast a small fire spell, and the resulting antipode dissipated both.

"Your objective is to break this wall down. Use whatever means necessary. As soon as you crumble it, you have the rest of the day off. However, you will not be dismissed until you destroy it." Queen Zeal said matter-of-factly. Lucca nodded, slightly disgruntled at being caught off guard by the various dangerous blocks of ice. The sheet of ice continued to float to and fro in the air. Every so often, a bit of its essence detached itself, formed a random shape, and flew at Lucca. This did nothing to harm the wall's integrity; it was still the exact same.

Lucca brought her hands together, muttered under her breath of a few seconds, and propelled a blast of flame towards the wall. Likewise, she grinned at how easy it was. Was Zeal so dull that she overlooked Lucca's adeptness with fire? The polar opposite of ice? After the flames at dissipated, the wall stood firm. A spike of ice came out of it and dove towards Lucca, who dodged it easily. Not even 3 seconds later, a second spike launched itself towards its target, slashing Lucca across her right forearm and piercing a vein. Blood trickled off her skin and dyed the grass under her crimson.

"What is this!" Lucca screamed at no one in particular. Queen Zeal was standing a ways off, watching Lucca stoically, yet analytically. Another burst of flame flew from the student's hands, scorching the wall for almost a minute, but not even a single drop of water had been shed. Lucca growled, dodging a set of four consecutive spears. The last one barely scraped her left leg. Giving one last effort, Lucca let all her mana converge inside her. She glowed red and slightly lifted off the ground, as was customary during such an incantation. A few blocks and spears of ice flew at her every so often. Most melted before they reached her, and others simply missed. Her arm drawn back, Lucca dug her foot into the grass, keeping her leg stiff and anchoring herself to the ground as she thrust her hand forward and doused the ice in a continuous jet of flame. The spell was so hot that the air around her and the wall crackled and smelled of smoke, though nothing was burning. Yet, the wall was unscathed.

"Take your time…" Queen Zeal shouted from a distance.

** Date: 12005 B.C.**

Lucca could barely walk. Literally. She had to settle with squirming on the ground while her legs regained substance, trying to inch herself closer to her bed, which was easily a four mile distance.

It was around dusk when Lucca had finally bested the wall. It seemed that every time she cast a spell, more and more spears of ice would fly from it and dive toward her. By her tenth spell, Lucca was so busy dodging hurtling lumps of frost that she couldn't focus long enough to cast a spell, and it still took more before a single crack resulted. From there, she had to use a combination of fire spells and kicking to try to topple it. The latter was highly ineffective; it only made her feet number, even through her shoes. But, it was the best she could manage, since attempting to cast a spell often led to a spike gashing her across a limb.

And so, the exhaustion that normally overwhelmed her after heavy magical exertion lately was combined with too much running, jumping, and getting chased by spears of ice. True to her word, Queen Zeal had left Lucca unable to walk, though she had promised to bring someone to help Lucca back into Kajar. That had been about 30 minutes ago. Certainly, such a walk didn't take THAT long! Lucca groaned slightly. She had a sharp pain in her shoulder from getting heavily scraped by a spike, and her feet felt like rubber. _I just feel like sleeping…_

"Lucca? Luccaaa…" Opening her eyes slightly, Lucca saw Schala, the Grand Princess of Zeal Kingdom and potential successor to the throne, staring down at her. She appeared the way she always did: bearing a kindly smile, thin and frail as always. The sun had almost gone behind the horizon; sunsets were different in Zeal because of its altitude, so a clear horizon wasn't visible, but the principle was the same.

Lucca could feel her legs now. She tried to get to her feet, and quickly fell back down. Schala had to help her up and hold her until she could get used to walking again. Who knew breaking a wall could take so much out of you?

"Mother sent me to return you to the city. How are you feeling?" Schala asked, speaking in a warm and soothing tone. She was a really sweet girl, considering who she came from. _Here you go again…_ Lucca's kinder side peeped up.

"Dreadful…" Lucca muttered. She stretched widely and yawned. Schala grinned and chuckled slightly.

"You had to tear that wall down, right?" the Princess asked. Lucca nodded, and smirked slightly. Schala had surely gone through the same punishment, as her countenance suggested. "If it makes you feel any better, I was in worse shape that you were! Mother had to pick me up and carry me back."

"What I don't understand is the purpose of it all. What difference does it make?" Lucca asked. Schala nodded in comprehension.

"It might seem like overkill at first, but you'll feel much better by the time the whole thing is done. Believe me, you'll stop fainting every other day." Schala said. Lucca narrowed her eyes slightly, and started walking at a slow pace. She had been sitting down trying to shake her exhaustion off.

"So you were fainting too? I thought I was the only one." Lucca said stoically. Schala smiled and clasped her hand behind her back.

"Oddly, so did I. Maybe this is more than coincidence?" Schala asked in a slightly giddy fashion. Lucca was amazed that Schala wasn't far older than her. She always acted so venerable and royal when in the presence of her mother.

"Maybe…" Lucca said. She was fairly sure that the message had been conveyed; she had no intention of pursuing a conversation. Not that she disliked speaking with Schala; the princess was very pleasant to speak with, considering she spoke so seldom. The vicious headache pulsating in her head just made talking the bottom of Lucca's list of priorities.

"Lucca, I would like to find out more about you. You seem to be an intriguing person…and we have a lot in common. I would like to learn how to be as carefree as you are. So, how about it?" Schala said, smiling slightly the whole time. Lucca was perplexed at her blatancy.

"Erm…what do you want me to say?" Lucca asked. Schala giggled and stared at the setting sun.

"Your dreams. Your likes and dislikes. Your aspirations for the future. Your regrets. Anything, I don't really care." Schala said thoughtfully. Lucca nodded, and started thinking. Dreams? She had never really had any dreams or aspirations for the future. She really just aspired for the "now". Well, excluding the fantasies here and there about Crono. How she missed him-

"You could say…I don't exactly aim for anything. I just live life one step at a time. That's the only way I can keep myself sane, since there's always something crazy going on that would impede me." Good answer, Lucca thought to herself. It certainly made her seem prophetic. "I like machines and boys. I hate-" Lucca was about to be earnest and say Queen Zeal, but that wouldn't bode well. The fact was, regardless of how much she told herself that Her Majesty wasn't THAT bad, the evil things the Queen did could not be ignored. Sure, Zeal hadn't taken her turn for the worse yet, but she would, eventually.

Schala had laughed whole-heartedly when Lucca said she liked boys, and had overlooked her subsequent hesitation. "You like boys, eh? I would have imagined otherwise." Schala said, and laughed again. Lucca frowned slightly.

"What makes you think that?" Lucca asked.

"I've never seen anyone be so repulsed by Khadgar, and that never happens. Most girls melt to his advances. He's a player." Schala said. Lucca couldn't help but guffawing.

"Are you kidding? He's pathetic." Lucca said, smiling inwardly. It felt good to be chased by boys, even if it was only one. No wonder Marle flourished under all the stupid suitors.

"He's taken quite a liking to you, you know. I'm afraid he'll do something drastic." Schala said in a mocked threatening tone.

"Like what?"

"You won't see it coming…"

Alright, done, chapter 9 is now.


	9. Musings

Chapter 9 for your pleasure.

Disclaimer: Standards apply.

**Date: 12005 B.C.**

Schala walked Lucca back to the citadel almost everyday after that; these times, however, it was out of the Princess' own free will. Lucca was totaled, as usual, at the end of almost every exercise, and with her training at the frequency of five days a week, sometimes six, there was barely enough time to rest adequately. Lucca ever-present desire to explore the city was constantly repressed, since after all, she was asleep any day she didn't have to meet with Zeal.

Over time, the exhaustion lessened. It had been 2 weeks after the beginning of the routine that she could cast the flame pillar spell without becoming close to or entirely comatose, and one more week before she did not feel wobbly, dizzy, or outright nauseous. Then, as expected, Schala would come to Lucca and her Majesty's designated training grounds and help Lucca up, all the while talking about nothing important. It was all a part of their lives now; Lucca could almost close her eyes and count down to when Schala would tap her on the shoulder, just near nightfall. As their meetings after training increased, Lucca's previous feeling of reverence whenever the princess approached was replaced by amity. She began to talk to Schala about her family and friends in Truce, though not before making the Zealian swear to never reveal Lucca's origins to anyone. Every so often, Lucca would mention Marle or Crono, though it wrenched her heart whenever her thoughts fell on them…well, them wasn't the right word, since Crono was the one she really wanted to see. Marle was really just an obstruction, something that was there, but that Lucca could not get rid of. Sure, the blond-haired princess was always friendly to Lucca and tried her best to develop their friendship, but the recipient of all of Marle's attempted camaraderie was never fond of her in the first place.

This pattern went on for about 3 months, until Queen Zeal began to teach Lucca new spells instead of helping her control old ones. These were mainly useless tricks that Lucca vaguely knew how to do, but never found a purpose for. The first of these was making copies of one's self using magic. Essentially, Lucca was made to create clones of herself (illusionary clones, of course; they dissipated in time and couldn't hurt a fly), which took extreme concentration and discipline, though that energy could have been better spent frying someone. And so, Queen Zeal made Lucca study this technique, as well as almost all variations of it, for a good three weeks before Lucca could do it consistently, though her Majesty added "review sessions" here and there to make sure Lucca never forgot the spell.

Being that Lucca couldn't dare voice her opinion to someone like Queen Zeal, she vented at Schala at the end of her practices. Almost everyday, Lucca couldn't help but mention how pointless she thought the exercises she was learning were; Schala always answered that Lucca should put more faith in her Majesty, being that she had stopped Lucca from fainting constantly. Lucca had no retort for this and simply nodded, while Schala beamed proudly at having bested her friend in a dispute, which rarely happened. Lucca once questioned where Zeal got all the time to train Lucca day in and day out, but Schala honestly did not know. Apparently, Lucca's training was so high on Zeal's priorities that she often refused to see individual council members unless there was an immediate urgency, or a previously requested conference had been delayed too long. She never once missed a group assembly, which occurred once every three weeks to discuss various issues arising. Schala, being part of the council (the youngest member in it by 1000 years, in fact), knew most of the details, though she did not give all the particulars about such summits to Lucca during their frequent get-togethers. One of the most discussed issues was the proposal to annex another piece of land into Zeal Kingdom, thereby increasing the number of islands to four, in order to house its burgeoning population and to allow sufficient space for the prospect of another city. The ideal piece of land - which was not yet entirely permafrost - lay in the outskirts of the Earthbound territories. As soon as the issue of negotiation was brought up in order to acquire the potential island, nearly all of the council's 2000 members urged her Majesty to oust whatever Earthbound lived in the area and spare the need for further unwanted association with the land-dwellers. Queen Zeal saw such brash actions as a bad idea, since it would not change much. The hidden reason, however, was that she foresaw the eventual reliance on Earthbounds once magic couldn't satisfy the Enlightened Ones' basic needs. Schala pointed out that her Majesty never openly said this to anyone, though she had discussed it with the princess at least twice, and that the few times that the topic arose between mother and daughter, Zeal would end the conversation. After cutting their talk short, Queen Zeal would enter her chambers and look out a window, silently brooding.

This reminded Lucca of the time she had spoken with Queen Zeal inside the monarch's chambers in Kajar. Her Majesty voiced the same ominous prediction, that the reliance of magic would eventually be the Kingdom's downfall. The night that Schala had spoken to Lucca about this, she pondered what could have been of Zeal Kingdom if they had never blindly followed their leader and awoken Lavos, prematurely destroying all that they had built over thousands of years. Most likely, the same result; the demand for magic to supply all of the Enlightened One's basic needs would be too great for its supply. After all, only a few people in the Kingdom developed their magic enough to handle much more strain. For this reason, the Sun Palace was built, and for this reason, the Mammon Machine would have been built and Lavos awakened eventually. There would be no difference, because Zeal Kingdom and its society was built in a way that required its eventual collapse. The only way Lucca saw to rectify this inevitability would be for Enlightened Ones and Earthbounds to co-exist and merge entirely, so Zealians would have a backdrop of knowledge on how to farm, how to build, and how to redevelop their society entirely once their magic failed them. Then, there would be no need to awaken Lavos because any additional need for energy would come in the form of Earthbound knowledge; with the two subgroups integrated into each other, the genes that granted magic would be spread through the entire human population, and farming and domestication would developed as they would have. In fact, Lucca saw this integration as the sole salvation of the Enlightened Ones; however, they were already too far into their hatreds and prejudices to even conceive such an idea, and they were too used to spells and incantations simplifying their lives that they couldn't possibly relearn what it meant to use one's sweat and blood to build a house. This all saddened Lucca; the anger that she previously held against the Enlightened Ones turned into pity. They would collapse under what made them unique in the first place, and none but Schala, Queen Zeal, and herself could see the eventuality. Perhaps the Gurus were aware of this as well, being that they were the wisest among Enlightened Ones, their knowledge surpassing even her Majesty's. However, Queen Zeal would eventually see them as threats some time in the next five years and ostracize them from their positions. Melchoir will be sealed in his icy prison soon enough, and Marle, Crono, Lucca, Frog, Robo, and Ayla would all be barging through the mountain to free him. Even though Lucca knew it was folly to try and prevent the following events from happening, it further saddened her that she could not do it, even if she wanted to. There was only five years left, after all, and she couldn't change this race of people whether she had five or fifty thousand.

The irony of the situation was so thick, it almost pained Lucca to think about it. The Enlightened Ones were doomed to failure one way or another, and that inevitability was as plain as the light of day; yet, the common Zealian knew nothing of this, and suspected nothing, and could think only of their carefree, nonchalant lifestyle. Lucca didn't remember the last she had seen an Enlightened One sweat or bleed, and at times she even thought this race was incapable of such natural human responses to exertion and pain. Did they ever cry after losing parents, grandparents, friends, family? Did they ever whimper and grovel, stricken with the plague or yellow fever? Did they pant as they foundered wood to provide shelter for the winter? And more importantly, did they relish in the feeling to a full belly because such a thing had been denied to them before? Did they covet however reward they received for their labors, their suffering? To Lucca, these people were barely human beings, because they did not live as such. They did not feel the inevitable feelings of loss or fear; likewise, they valued life so lowly because they had never had theirs threatened. Why else would they live in luxury while Earthbounds suffered in the freezing cold? Any human being who has known destitution, pain, or suffering would not allow their fellow human to endure the same dismal feeling.

Yet, all these thoughts only compounded into her further admiring Schala. The girl had probably never gone so long as thirty minutes without the most luxurious clothes on her back, or the most exquisite food in her belly, yet she cared so much for those who had nothing. Schala was a saint, or an angel, or maybe both; but either way, the princess was capable of love and compassion that Lucca had never thought possible in a person, and for no reason other than her own kindness. Others are philanthropic because they believe it amends for their sins, but Schala had, has, and will never sin; others care because it is politically correct, but Schala had, has, and will never place politics over her concern for humankind. It was saddening then, that Lucca was this angel's foil, for the inverse of one million can only be an infinitesimal number, and the inverse of absolute goodness and grace can only be evil beyond comprehension.

** Date: 12005 B.C.**

Lucca woke up that morning gloomy, still slightly troubled by all that she had pondered the previous night. The sun was still slowly rising, and the sky was an odd tint of gray. It must have been dawn. Getting up slowly, Lucca yawned and stretched before heading for the small pool at the bottom of the sourceless waterfall. Over the weeks, Lucca had rearranged a number of rocks that lay at the bottom of the pool so they made three separate enclosures. One was large enough to bathe in; the other was small and conveniently at the edge of the pool, made for washing one's face or brushing one's teeth; and the third massive for when Lucca felt like swimming, which wasn't very often. She had never liked swimming very much in the first place, her element being fire, and water its instinctive enemy. Lucca strolled over to the smallest enclosure, and plunged her hand in the water. A few seconds later, steam rose from the makeshift sink, and Lucca doused her face in the warm water, waking her up entirely.

"What am I going to do today?" Lucca muttered out loud. It was her day off, so the lingering prospect of her exercises was gone. She could always play with the children that often frolicked in the fields immediately outside Lucca's quarters. They were often her emergency entertainment when there was nothing else to do, though such a day only occurred when her Majesty had to cancel a lesson because of a council meeting. That meant Schala, with her aura of goodness and purity and the general friendliness she brought, would not be there. During these days, Khadgar was often there to keep Lucca company, though he was often called upon at the palace to help design the plans for a provisional form of energy called the Mammon Machine. Lucca became somber when she heard this; Khadgar would probably die when Lavos awoke, since she hadn't seen him in the village of Commons after Zeal Kingdom was destroyed. Running her hands through her hair, which had stopped growing entirely but still reached her knees, Lucca strolled lazily back to her bed and sat down. She looked at her palm and formed a fist, then unballed it to look at her palm once again. She felt like burning something. An odd desire had been building inside of Lucca for a few weeks now, but she could never quite place her finger on it. She had discovered what it was now; she had been idle too long. Her magic was a burgeoning force waiting to be unleashed, and her pointless exercises didn't satiate its hunger. It was a sensation new to her, almost like a longing, but she was certain it had been there since she was attacked by the dinosaurs.

"What can I set on fire…" Lucca said absent-mindedly. A ball of fire formed over her palm, grew to the diameter of a plate, and dissipated as fast as it had come. Lucca did this a few times, the ball larger at every occasion, until she couldn't take it anymore, and felt like she had to burn _something_, had to unleash the destructive force that was her magic, or she would die.

A short chapter. Most of this chapter was written quite a while ago, but a large chunk of it is recent. See if you can figure out which through the discrepancies.


	10. Enlightenment

Chapter 10.

Disclaimer: Standards apply.

** Date: 12005 B.C.**

Lucca settled on heading to the fields west of the city. They were the most unfrequented, due to their proximity to the Blackbird - meaning one couldn't risk letting a spell go out of hand and catastrophically demolish the plane - and were thus the best place for her to sort out her odd urges. Among these was her hunger to burn something to a crisp. At this point, Lucca didn't care what it was, as long as she could feel the flames licking the surface of her target as it melted into oblivion. Lucca had been getting more and more anxious to fry an object, to see it massacred by her assault, and most of all, to be able to enjoy it. She always enjoyed it, whether it was a fellow human being, metal, an animal…another indication of her insanity.

"Argh… What-" Lucca asked herself out loud. The grass wavered tantalizingly below her feet. Maybe she could burn this whole field down. That would do her some good, as well as releasing the pent up energy inside her. No, that wouldn't work. Burning grass was too basic, and took almost no exertion. Just a little spark would probably set the whole field ablaze, especially since the wind was fairly strong and would spread the embers easily. It would be counterproductive, really. Not being tired and spent after the deed was done would only leave her more disappointed.

"Oh well. It doesn't hurt anyone," Lucca said to herself. She sighed inwardly at having settled on the grass, and knew it would hurt someone for sure. Engineers and workers used this field frequently to conduct experiments in the propulsion system and frame of the Blackbird, even though it was empty right now, and having it charred and blackened wouldn't bode well. Not that Lucca really cared. She just needed to make something catch fire. Her very existence at this point could be defined by the word pyromania.

Muttering under her breath, Lucca formed a sphere of fire in her hand and flung it at the ground, staring in glee at the blaze it would produce. The ball hit the ground, exploded, and threw flames all over the area in a wide radius. Lucca had a red gleam in her purple eyes as she grinned, waiting for the inferno to start; well, inferno wasn't the right word. More like bonfire. She waited, the embers flickered off in the wind, but the grass never burned.

"What the hell…" Lucca mouthed, confused. She felt let down by her very own magic. Perhaps she hadn't tried hard enough. Bringing her palms together and extending them outwards, she propelled a jet of flame that doused the grass and sent hot cinders flying all over the area. Again, the grass was unscathed.

"Why isn't this stupid thing burning!" Lucca screamed to herself. Then it hit her, and the answer revealed to be quite obvious. This grass was impervious to magic. It had to be, or all those people who randomly practiced would have destroyed the islands by now. That would also explain why the grass didn't burn when Lucca orchestrated the fireball stunt that had made her faint, a few days before Queen Zeal began her classes. Though this was annoying, the grass' immunity to such powerful and grandiose forces brought a smile to Lucca's lips. For something to be so small, yet to resist even the most dangerous of circumstances was truly astounding. Lucca felt elated for reasons beyond her understanding.

"You know what…I don't think I'll burn this grass. I'll keep it alive and happy. I like it." She said, in a smug, matter-of-fact tone. Picking herself up from the floor, Lucca stared up at the clouds, and then across the vast expanse of sky surrounding the kingdom. She could see the pillar of light that was the Skygate, the path that had brought her here, but she also saw an identical pillar at an opposite part of the island. It was a Landgate. Apparently, it had been closed for renovation and repair some time past. Lucca recalled Khadgara's words when she confronted the girl on the surface, _"__Oh really? So, how did you, a Zealian, find your way down here when the Land Bridge has been closed for just over a month now"_. It must have reopened some time recently.

"Now that I don't have grass to burn…what can I do to pass the time…" Lucca scoured her brain for answers. There were a number of things she could do. The library was always open. She finally had a day to visit and sightsee across the city, something she never got to due to her busy schedule. However, she seemed to favor activities that involved fire, inflicted pain, or a rush of adrenaline.

"I think I'm becoming sadomasochistic." Lucca said. She had settled on the library. She realized now that she had never fully read through he book she first came upon in Zeal, detailing Schala's condition, which closely mimicked her own. Perhaps now she could find out exactly what the myth was. She started for the city, but not before glancing back at the Land Bridge. Something told her she would be using it soon.

There was an old myth, long since disregarded, that referred to such a condition as this. It stated that only two people would ever have this syndrome, and they would be polar opposites. One would be benefited positively, while the other would be affected in the inverse. One would use their newfound power for good, while their counterpart would use it for evil. Though the myth was vague See Myths and Legends of Zeal, Vol. XXXVII, we are convinced that Schala is the first of the two individuals mentioned here. The second has yet to be discovered. The myth goes on to say…

Lucca sighed and turned the page. On it was long text written prophetically, in the form of a poem (A/N: Qyla and Xica are Light and Dark. You may remember Xica from before, in Lucca's textbook on magic application. Yvtra and Utrulo are just names of the mythological character, but phoyniox is Zealian for neverending cycle. Sounds like "phoenix", doesn't it?):

_When the world was young, Light and Dark, Qyla and Xica, were all that existed._

_The two siblings had children, the day and the night._

_These children had their own, man, bird, tree, snow, wind, sun, moon, mountain._

_Yet, Qyla and Xica, being opposites, had always been enemies._

_They always battled for dominance, and their children did the same._

_In this way, sun and moon fight over prominence on the earth. Man and beast fight over survival and a feast._

_Qyla and Xica's strongest children,Yvtra and Utrulo, were thus destined to battle, until the end of time, or their parents ending their feud, whichever came first. Yvtra and Utrulo would manifest themselves into beings, be it man or beast, to do battle._

_One would be victorious, until various millennia later, the other would rise up, reincarnated into another living being._

_Yvtra and Utrulo, obedient to their parents, would battle once again. The defeated would host the body of a man or beast on their sixteenth winter._

_By their reincarnation, Yvtra and Utrulo were named the phoyniux (plural for phoyniox), fighting eternally through the souls of man and beast._

_Yet, Yvtra and Utrulo were opposite, yet equal._

_What made the light engulf darkness, or darkness extinguish the light?_

_Only the strength of the hosts' souls made the outcome._

_There are many theories to what this means, and how it applies to the princess. Firstly, she was afflicted by magical feedback on her 16th year. Secondly, she is well-known for her purity and kindness. Thirdly, she is almost identical to Yvtra in appearance, as seen of the goddess in various frescos found in the early cave drawings of Zeal Kingdom; in addition, she had little to no resemblance to her own mother or father aside from her blue hair. It is assumed that the manifestation of Utrulo would appear like him, be afflicted by the disease at sixteen years, and be particularly evil, negative, or adept in magic with no reliable capability of positive utility. When this person arises, the gods will make sure they and Schala meet and do battle, as it is the order of things._

Lucca blinked as she finished the page. The next chapter discussed the symptoms with more depth, and gave an outline to what steps Queen Zeal took to alleviate the unprecedented growth in Schala's physical being and magic.

There was no longer any doubt in her mind. Schala was the phoenix of light and she the phoenix of darkness. All the evidence pointed towards that fact. Lucca could look like this Utrulo person, though she didn't feel that to be particularly relevant. She was afflicted at sixteen years, just like the book had foretold. But about the magic with no positive utilitiy…fire was used to cook food. Fire could be harnessed to warm one's home. Lucca nearly cheered inwardly. Perhaps, she had nothing to do with the myth, until she reread it. Reliable capability…fire was volatile. A cooking fire would grow out of control, and burn the food. A fire built to warm one's self could grill the person. It was her. Lucca was darkness, Schala was light, and neither could coexist with the other.

"I can't believe this. Victim…illness…syndrome…The loser dies." It all dawned on her. That was why Spekkio was so reluctant to tell her what the problem was. Schala was even more powerful than her mother. Spekkio knew this, and foresaw Lucca, possessed by Utrulo, fighting to the death and being killed.

"I can't die this way. This is stupid. For some stupid myth from some stupid religion I don't even believe in. They're wrong. They don't know anything!" Lucca said, bursting into tears. The library had turned to silence, and some of the nearest people eyes Lucca curiously.

"Yes…that's it…they're wrong. It's not me, it's just a coincidence." Lucca muttered. Just then, a chandelier snapped from its holster, crashed against the table, and sputtered into flame. A blue-haired man near the fallen chandelier sighed, extinguished the flames through a water spell, and replaced the chandelier upon it's holster on the high ceiling. The table it had landed on was not very badly damaged, though it was slightly blackened at the edge.

"No capability of positive utility…it's all true…it's all true!" Lucca muttered. Tears flowed freely from her eyes again. Was this her destiny? To be a puppet for some foreign god of a civilization that would collapse in no longer than five years? Lucca couldn't believe it. It was all a dream. Paranoia, stress, from overworking herself. She would wake up and find herself back in Truce, with her mother reminding her that she was due at the palace to display her new invention, the microwave. Or she would find herself at Crono's side in their bedroom, their child wailing in the nearby room. She would check on the baby, quiet it, lull it to sleep, and return to the warmth and comfort of her beloved's arms. That was her life, her existence. Not this. Not involving herself in a gladiator match with her closest friend in this place because a stupid book hinted at it.

"Fuck…this can't be happening…" Lucca said, running her hands through her hair and giving a hard tug. She winced at the pain, her eyes closed, and spiraled back into sobbing when she realized it wasn't a dream…

** Date: 12005 B.C.**

Lucca had returned to her room, too much in a daze to ponder over this new discovery, and settled on analyzing every intricacy on the poem before she slept. It was burned into her brain, etched into her soul. She knew every line by heart, but it read the same, and led to the same conclusion. The desire to burn, the urge to see pain and suffering…it was all predicted by the myth. There wasn't any room for argument or discussion, for the poem was completely accurate. Spekkio knew this all along. But…surely, Queen Zeal would have known as well. She wouldn't have taken Lucca under her wing knowing that Schala would be the one to suffer when their battle came. Maybe she was oblivious to all this? No, it didn't make sense. She must have known something, or the Queen wouldn't have allowed Lucca to stay in the Kingdom, being that there was no proof of Lucca being native to this place.

Maybe Queen Zeal wants them to fight? To get rid of both of them, perhaps, because they would be threats in the future? That could be applied to Lucca, since she would assault the palace with her allies in a few years. But why would she try to eliminate Schala? That possibility was out of the question. Even if there was a motive to further her daughter's death, only one of them would die, because there was only one loser.

Nothing made sense, yet the poem was specific and absolutely right. All of its criteria had been met. The condition of sixteen years had been achieved. The light and dark beings had been provided. It was only a matter of time, but what did Zeal have to do with it? She obviously couldn't NOT know, since her recollections had been used to write the book. Either way, Queen Zeal was aware; there was no way she couldn't be. Lucca would have to confront her for answers, and more importantly, for self-assurance.

** Date: 12005 B.C. **

It must have early the next morning when Lucca woke up. She surprised herself at having slept practically an entire day, but was too preoccupied with running every possible scenario about her eventual confrontation with Queen Zeal to ponder too much on it.

"Maybe Schala knows about all this…she has to. Then, if she knew we were going to kill each other, why did she bother to befriend me?" Lucca muttered. Another inconsistency in this dilemma. It was becoming painfully obvious that someone had been deceiving her, starting from Spekkio and his reluctance to inform her about the nature of the disease. The problem would be to find this person.

Lucca went over to her makeshift sink and stared into the water. Her eyes had bags under then, her cheeks were flushed, and she had an angry expression, reinforced by her mental note to kill whoever had this hidden for so long.

Chapter 11 on the way.


	11. A Vacation

11.

Disclaimer: Standards Apply.

** Date: 12004 B.C.**

She roamed the halls. There was nothing else _to _do really, except wait for Schala and confront her. Perhaps, Lucca could get concrete answers, rather than the riddles and puzzles that had baffled even her brain for an entire week.

The princess had been extremely busy working with the council on something. Khadgar had told Lucca this two days after she had seen the myth, further enticing her impatience. Apparently, it was something very important, to the point that all council members had to be present to deliberate. Lucca had accepted this and replayed her inescapable conversation with Schala. The inventor would start off with random chit-chat to lay down the basic framework of her inquisitions. Silly things like how old Schala was, or how come she was so selfless. The princess would be modest, of course, and Lucca would take this vulnerability to slam her with incessant questions. _Then you are the Phoenix of Light and perfection and goodness, aren't you? _and_ 16 years old. Doesn't that number sound familiar! _until her Highness cracked. That was the best case scenario, of course. Worst case was that Schala was as clueless as Lucca was.

The princess met with Lucca later that day. Lucca started the chit-chat, as expected. The question about selflessness came.

"Say, Schala." Lucca muttered. They were resting beside the waterfall a few kilometers from the bridge connecting the two islands of Zeal Kingdom. The girl acknowledge Lucca's statement with a slight hum.

"Why do you give so much to this place? I mean, you never spend any time to indulge. You just work, work, work, so others can take advantage and benefit." Lucca whispered, trying to sound as curious as possible. The moment of truth.

"By the way, Lucca, the council members were going to head to the surface to finalize the discussion on annexing a new island. I was thinking, maybe you want to come along? Since you've seemed so bored lately." Schala said, completely ignoring the question. Lucca narrowed her eyes. That was a bit too off-topic to be normal.

"Oh, I'm not bored. But see, this is exactly what I'm talking about. Instead of sleeping in or running around with your friends, you would go with a bunch of boring old people to talk about something that won't affect you very much. Why do you do that?" Lucca inquisitively. Schala sighed and stared upward at the clouds. She remained like this for minutes at a time, as if unsure of the answer herself. The silence was so imposing that Lucca considered changing the subject to simply avoid the response, but fought against it. This was necessary if Lucca was going to lay her trap. Sure, it would have been easier to ask directly, but that was no fun, and Lucca had stopped thinking logically a long time before.

"Because…because I care. Because if I don't work for my people, no one will, and they will live in mediocrity. Don't you see, Lucca? When selfless people like me spend all their time on their neighbors, everyone benefits. They're more important than I am, and their needs supersede mine. This is my way of showing I care about them." Schala said candidly. Lucca looked away, ashamed. She had kept telling herself that the question was just for the plan, but she knew she really meant it. Lucca had always had her self-interest in mind, even when she made new inventions, and had never realized it until now.

They both sat quietly, not looking at each other.

Silence.

"Sometimes, I wonder how we can stand each other." Lucca muttered. She knew Schala was paying attention.

"We're nothing alike. Our view of the world is entirely different. We don't even think alike. The only thing remotely similar is our ages." _More proof that the myth is true, _Lucca thought. Schala merely nodded.

"Nowhere is it written than people need to be identical to coexist." Schala said simply. She was right of course. It seems she and Lucca would be exceptions. Their conflict was imminent. The seeds were simply being sewn.

Lucca couldn't ask now. After their short conversation, she didn't think she could handle the answer.

"Meet me outside my room tonight if you're interested in coming," Schala said stoically, standing up. She seemed frustrated over something. Lucca could easily read the Princess' eyes, even though her Highness tried as hard as she could to not frown. Schala felt that negativity was no different than betrayal.

"Right."

Lucca had done as instructed. Schala told her the details of the forum. It was going to be held at Terra Cave three weeks from that day, and there would be a festival hosted by the Earthbounds before and after the meetings. Schala had no doubt the land would be annexed. Even if the Earthbounds refused, the majority of councilmen and women would clamor and force Queen Zeal to give the order to take it by force. Lucca noted that her Majesty was much more flexible here than she had been in 12000 B.C. Perhaps news of Lavos' power had corrupted the Queen by then.

The time flew by amazingly quickly. Before Lucca knew it, it was time to head down through the newly repaired Landbridge.

"They're leaving in 2 hours. I better start dressing." Lucca told herself. She was currently sleeping, but had set her internal clock to wake her up at 11 P.M. The times were awkward, but sensical. An Enlightened One wouldn't even contemplate sleeping in an Earthbound cave, and the talks were predicted to be frighteningly long. Therefore, it was necessary to head down early enough to provide the entire day for the debate. If it took longer than a day, the various ambassadors and councilmen would simply return to Zeal and come back to finish the discussion at a later date. It never took more than a day, however. Zeal Kingdom could always impose their power and pressure the Earthbound leaders into whatever they wanted.

"My best robes…I wouldn't want to look like trash." Lucca muttered in the darkness of her room. She found it rather easily. It was an elegant, formal gown with long sleeves that opened at the bottom. It was primarily purple and white, unlike Lucca's usual bluish clothing, and held the seal of Zeal Kingdom embroidered in gold on it's back. Considering almost all articles of clothing were custom-made, (Zealian mothers didn't have much to do during the day), it fit Lucca like a glove, bringing out her figure and complementing her dark eyes and hair.

Lucca strode over to the mirror to look at herself one last time before meeting the rest of the ambassadors at the city's gates. She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, forming a ball of flame that hung in the air listlessly, and provided enough light to see clearly.

After looking over herself quickly, Lucca headed to the castle entrance. It was a good hour-long walk, though Lucca had done it many times before, so she needed to start off early. Besides, she had planned to meet Schala a little bit earlier to keep the girl company. An unspoken rule stated that the leader of the negotiatory group had to arrive first. It was oddly the opposite of a precedent in 1000 A.D. Important people were encouraged to be late. Marle had reassured her of that.

"Schala?" Lucca whispered impartially. She hadn't seen the girl as she headed through the doors, and the moon had provided more than enough light.

"I'm over here." The Princess answered. She was lying on the grass, staring at the moon. Lucca could see her expression, but she could expect it to be thoughtful or whimsical. "Isn't it beautiful?" She muttered. Lucca stared up. When there were no clouds to block the celestial satellite, the moon was even more stunning. It glowed so vibrantly that it could have passed as the sun on a rainy day.

"Are you ready to go?" Lucca asked, laying down next to her friend. It seems the pair had grown closer over the weeks since their discomfited conversation. They were inseparable, except when one of Schala's duties arose or Lucca had a lesson. Speaking of which, the lessons were becoming more and more infrequent. They were held once a week now, and even that was iffy. It wasn't uncommon for Queen Zeal to schedule a lesson every fortnight.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Schala said lethargically. Lucca knew something was wrong. The princess never spoke this way when nothing was the matter. Lucca grasped her friend's hand to get her attention, and stared at the Princess in the eyes.

"Tell me what's wrong." Lucca said stoically. Schala sighed deeply and stared at the ground.

"Anytime something like this is proposed, it ends in disaster. The councilmen don't know the meaning of compromise, and since the Earthbound are powerless, they have to settle for these ridiculously unfair deals." Schala said in frustration. Had that been what was nagging the princess for so long? In all honesty, Lucca didn't care. Perhaps she was like the Enlightened Ones in her lack of concern, but she sometimes forgot there were people no different than her suffering from the harsh conditions on the surface. Every time she remembered, however, an image of Hexia and her daughter appeared in Lucca's mind. She was curious to see as to how they were faring. It had been nearly a year since Lucca had last seen them. Lucca's thoughts returned to Schala when she felt a weight on her shoulder. Her Highness had fallen asleep, and had snuggled closer to Lucca as the inventor brooded. Lucca instinctively stroked the girl's silky blue hair and peered at her face. It was contorted in a type of suppressed pain that she had seen in Queen Zeal's eyes all those months ago. She was suffering from the same predicament; to work so hard for one's people, only to know, deep inside one's soul, that they would die off eventually. Lucca felt a twinge of sadness in her heart, and grew closer to the sister figure pressed against her in slumber.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I can't help. That I can't make you smile without forcing it…" Lucca spoke aloud. She knew Schala couldn't hear her, but felt it was necessary for the wind to catch her words. Just then, she heard the gates groan as they opened. The negotiatory part had been assembled at last.

"Schala." Lucca said softly into the girl's ear, shaking her. The princess blinked a number of times before waking up fully and yawning. Turning her head, her Highness could see the thirty-nine diplomats that would come with her to Terra cave streaming out of Kajar.

"Time to go already? But you're so soft…" Schala said with a weak grin. Lucca blushed and looked away, enticing a warm laugh from the Princess. Lucca smiled. Her Majesty's daughter hadn't laughed that whole-heartedly in a long time. Looks like that nap had rejuvenated her, despite its short length.

"Your Highness. It is time to go." A guardsman said to Schala. For some reason, over a hundred guards had been assigned to defend the group. Lucca saw this as unnecessary. What danger existed that forty refined magic-users couldn't fight off? Did they need an army squadron too? Lucca stared at the soldier, and immediately recognized him as Khadgara. How ironic.

"Hey there, Khadgara." She muttered. Lucca hadn't seen her for months either. She had a number of things to do nowadays, including training new members of the mitilary force. Khadgar also mentioned that she gave in to her parents' request to marry. Maybe Lucca could tease the older woman about it. Khadgara had always valued celibacy above all else.

"Lucca! Where have you been hiding yourself?" She responded, pulling Lucca into a hug. Lucca patted her on the back friendlily. Regardless of how much of a nuisance Lucca saw her as, it was glad to see her again. She was dressed in the usual military attire and held her pike in her right hand. She looked no different than she always had; she wore the same imposing smile, the same air of pride and turgidity, though there was a bit more humility in her expression.

"I hear from a reliable source that you are going to be we-ed!" Lucca said in a singsong voice, which brought another laughing fit out of Schala. The lieutenant blushed deeply and gave off a small smile.

"My brother never ceases to spread rumors. It annoys me." She said matter-of-factly. Lucca smiled. This trip might turn out to be good. She had accepted at first because she had nothing better to do and she didn't want to leave Schala by her lonesome, but it seems there was nothing but gaiety in store, especially since she wouldn't be participating in the grueling discussions, but enjoying the festival instead.

"So, who's the lucky man?" Schala asked. From her tone, Lucca could tell she had met Khadgara already. They must have undoubtedly acquainted themselves through Khadgar's guidance. Khadgara pointed at one of the councilmen who was convening with an older ambassador. Maybe he had noticed her pointing, but he turned his head to bow at the trio of women. Khadgara bowed back, beaming at him. He flashed her a smile as well. The boy had bluish hair like most of the population, but had green eyes. Lucca couldn't help but notice how handsome he was. He turned back to his conversation.

"What was that about?" Lucca asked. Khadgara leaned on her pike and yawned lazily.

"We always do that in public. Call it a habit, if you will," She answered. Lucca waited, as if expecting a continuation.

"Well? Spill it!" The purple-eyed girl said impatiently. Khadgara laughed.

"Ok, ok! Calm down. Alright then," she said, as if steadying herself for a long story. "My parents have been insisting that I marry him. I have avoided it for a few months now by changing the subject, but my mother forced me to do it after I tried to stall some more. Apparently, they had already made the arrangement with his mother and father before she obliged me to marry. So, I sullenly complied with my parents' demand to avoid being disowned, and went to meet him and his family. Turns out he was the most handsome, funniest, and smartest person I had ever met. So yes, I guess my parents win again."

"…that wasn't my question." Lucca said sarcastically. Khadgara scratched her head in confusion.

"What do you want then? If you're so anxious to know, he's great in bed. Very satisfying. We went for five hours two nights ago." She said absent-mindedly. Lucca groaned and slapped her forehead while Schala couldn't help but burst out laughing. Khadgara eyed the two with curiosity.

"What I meant was," Lucca said, "why is it a habit between you two to bow in public?" Lucca said slowly, as if talking to a four-year old child. Khadgara nodded in comprehension.

"Because it's ironic to act as if we have never met, even though we are so privately intimate." She answered.

"You scare me sometimes." Lucca said in earnest. Schala broke into a fit of laughter for the fourth time that morning, and being that laughter was infectious, all three of them found themselves giggling.

"We are ready to depart. Please stay with the group as we head to the plane." A man with a scrawny beard said, silencing the small crowd.

"Plane? What plane?" Lucca asked in confusion. Schala whispered the answer in her ear.

"You know Enlightened Ones and their lack of adaptation. What makes you think they can survive in the cold?"

Chapter 11 done.


	12. Altercations

Alright then. Chapter 12. Depending on how I set it up, this will be the first chapter with major violence. Well, not major, but enough to spark things that really up the rating.

This is Chapter 12, unedited from last version

Disclaimer: Standards apply.

** Date: 12004 B. C.**

The plane was fantastic.

It was a small craft, really, no longer than a few meters in breadth, and with modest seating for a few hundred. The Blackbird must have been many dozen times bigger than it. However, the technological achievement that must have been needed to complete it was amazing. There wasn't the slightest jostle when it was met by strong winds, unlike the Epoch; the seats were wide enough to sleep in; and, considering there were forty aristocratic Zealian diplomats on the ship, it was certainly well-pressured, heated, serviced with food, water, and whatever else. The one thing Lucca was slightly angered at was the lack of windows. Seeing the surface in the dead of night from above would have certainly been a stunning sight, but that option was off the table.

The inside was luxurious as well. There were chandeliers hanging at regular intervals to provide visibility (though some magically blocked themselves off from the light to sleep), and the aisle between the two rows of seats was adorned with velvety carpet.

"We will arrive at our destination in an hour." The pilot called from inside the cabin. Lucca hadn't heard it, too busy on being anxious to arrive. She hadn't been this expectant of a destination since she was a child, yet, she had visited this destination already!

Sitting next to Lucca was the Princess, her slender fingers intertwined in each other, and her chin resting on the small dome the action created. She was deep in thought, as hinted by the slight furrowing of her brow.

"This will not go well…" Schala murmured out of nowhere. Lucca gave her a sidelong glance, which the Princess interpreted as undivided attention. "I have a hunch-or a bad feeling maybe," she continued, "but no good can come out of this."

"Don't be so pessimistic." Lucca said simply, smiling slightly. Schala gave a weak nod and resumed her assumed position. She was quickly taken out of her trance when she picked up a slight dispute among some of the other diplomats. Turning her head, Schala noted that it was Khadgara's fiancée arguing with an older woman.

"There will be no reason for me to make this trip again. The land shall be annexed, with their consent or not!" The lady said. Khadgara's husband frowned.

"Only with their consent. That was her majesty's words, were they not? How would you feel if someone took away what you worked hard to cultivate without your approval?" He answered angrily. The woman scoffed, giving him a hateful glance.

"Queen Zeal is incompetent! She's been proposing ridiculous things for years now. Besides, Zeal Kingdom is entitled to whatever it wishes, and conversing those swine will do nothing but waste my precious time! The nerve of you, sympathizing with them! I'm not surprised, though. You don't know what has happened between our races. You are still a little boy after all. Whoever appointed you must have been just as insane as our precious Queen. The minimum age requirement for the council **_used_** to be above the level of a toddler." The lady said, her voice dripping with sarcasm and scorn. A good number of people's faces hardened at the attacks against her Majesty, and Lucca could clearly see Khadgara tensing a few rows ahead and gripping her pike until her knuckles were white. Her husband harbored the same rage and rose to his feet abruptly.

"Lady Kasmarek, Ladrius. I will not tolerate any such arguments before a summit," Schala said fiercely, though her voice was relatively calm. "This is not the time for petty fights. Save it for your personal time."

"Silence, child. You cannot give me orders until your deranged mother goes to the grave." Lady Kasmarek snapped. Lucca placed a hand on Schala's thigh, silently prompting her to remain silent and let it go, to not lose her temper. The Princess complied.

"I can, on the other hand, and I would appreciate it if you were quiet, Mabria." The man with the scrawny beard who had announced their departure earlier said. Lucca turned around and eyed him closely. She nearly gasped when she recognized him as Melchoir, and was an instant away from embracing him when she remembered that he didn't have the slightest clue who she was. He was addressing the spiteful woman that been arguing with Khadgara's husband Ladrius and Schala.

Mabria Kasmarek did not reply, though she cast a spell blocking out all sound and light. Lucca blinked when the entire debacle had ended. The prejudice against Earthbounds was more severe that she had thought.

"Schala…" Lucca muttered, intent on asking what was wrong with that middle-aged woman, curious as to why Lady Kasmarek disliked negotiation so much. When she turned her head to face her Highness, she found the girl shivering fiercely and holding back tears, her fists balled and shaking. Lucca hadn't expected the princess to react so strongly.

"Lucca…you can't believe how much I want to tear her head off…" Schala whispered, enraged. She sucked in a deep breath, and buried her face into Lucca's lap, sobbing softly. _God…I never thought you took this much crap from people. I certainly wouldn't have restrained myself like you did, Schala…_ Lucca thought, rubbing the girl's back comfortingly. Not long after, Schala rose, adjusted herself and sniffed a few times, and put on her usual warm, soothing face.

"I'm sorry…I don't know what came over me." The princess said to Lucca, her eyes slightly downcast. Lucca smiled back at her.

"There's nothing to be sorry about. I would have murdered her by now!" Lucca exclaimed, laughing a bit at the end. Schala giggled and sank into her chair slowly, rubbing her temples repeatedly. Lucca felt an overwhelming desire to hug the princess until Schala spilt all her unshed tears, but it was best to let her recuperate.

"We are now commencing our descent. Please, gather all your belongings and prepare to exit the craft. Terra Cave will be situated fifteen minutes from the landing site. That is the closest I can get without any danger to the passengers." The pilot announced. Though no one responded, Lucca noted how uncomfortable they suddenly became. Maybe Schala was right; they were about as tolerant to bad weather as a slug was to salt.

But not without reason. It was enough colder now than it had been when Lucca first arrived, and it wasn't even snowing. She attributed it to being on a heated airplane. There was no other explanation, for the contrast of temperatures must have made this one seem so extreme. Lucca couldn't help but give a smirk to Schala when Lady Kasmarek noticeably shivered. Looks like the weather was initiating revenge for the Princess.

Lucca, due to the nature of her magic, was naturally unaffected by the cold. She strode ahead of the group, anxious to reach the cave and its cozy atmosphere. Part of the reason was that it was well sheltered, but Lucca felt more excitation because of the luxury (relative, of course) found in Terra Cave. The Earthbounds had done a good job of making with what was available to them. This Ice Age made trees nearly inexistent, yet they managed to scourge any stray branches and make beds out of the stale and frozen bark.

Terra Cave was situated in a small nook in-between two of the largest mountains around, and led to Algetty, village of the Earthbound. The entrance was at the base of the larger of the two peaks, the terrain impassible except for a number of hills around the massive mountains. Therefore, it was necessary to traverse the hills, the smallest one, preferably, in order to gain easy access to the cave. The mountain that housed Terra Cave was almost completely hollow at its bottom, except for extremely strong rock at the edge of the radial base. It was a mystery how the mountain continued to stand, but it would be destroyed by Lavos and the tidal wave the creature created in a few years.

"We're almost there!" shouted Lucca over the crowd. She had unofficially become the leader of the pack, even though there was already someone designated for that job, because of her resilience against the current weather. The cave indeed was situated a mere 300 meters away, and everyone began to pick up their pace. It didn't take long for them to get over the hill that led to the valley housing Terra Cave. As soon as they had passed over the knoll, the assembly stopped. From their position, they could see the large number of lanterns and people that had assembled to greet the diplomats. The crowd must have been at least ten thousand strong, littering the area and creating a clear path into the cave, the entrance designated by red carpet. Lucca wondered where they had found the materials to make carpet in these conditions. Whoever had the time or energy to kill an animal with strong enough hide to make such a carpet must have been immune to nature.

"Finally…" Schala mouthed. She had been shivering slightly, though a lot less than the other ambassadors. As if on cue, four of the soldiers pulled out massive, one at each corner of the rectangle made by the procession, golden horns adorned with velvet tassels that made the seal of Zeal Kingdom when the strands were close together. Lucca noted that Khadgara was one of them, standing on the top-right corner of the rectangular group. The notes blew into the air in an anthem lasting nearly ten minutes. The melody was loud at first, until a short and frail woman produced an ocarina from her robes, and played a solo that lasted the rest of the song. The horns joined her melody at its conclusion, the crowd bursting into applause and cheering as the song died down. The procession began down the hill.

"What was all that for?" Lucca whispered curiously to Schala, after having retreated to the back of the rectangle to join her friend. The Princess smiled slightly.

"We do this every time there is such a meeting. The Earthbounds will come out and greet us. A song is played to announce our arrival, though it's not really needed for our presence to be noticed…" She trailed off. She was right. After all, Earthbounds wouldn't travel in such a large group except if wild game had flooded into the valleys by the thousands. And that could only happen during the summertime. It was very clearly winter, but who really made the distinction? It was always cold.

"I didn't know so many people lived here!" Lucca said in amazement. There must have been more people here than in Zeal Kingdom, which Lucca had always thought to be very heavily populated. This must have spawned from her heritage in such a small village as Truce.

"I know. I had never seen so many people gathered at once before I first came to one of these things. I had made many visits before, too," said Schala casually. The lanterns glowed brightly, though the moonlight was illuminating enough. As the diplomats came closer, the crowd began bowing their heads. When Schala and Lucca began passing through the outlined path, the crowd got on their knees altogether, bowing at the two in reverence. Lucca assumed the respect was directed to the Princess, however.

"You don't have to do this. I'm not as special as you are made to believe." Schala spoke softly, stopping near the middle of the outlined path. Reluctantly, the crowd got back to their feet, and Lucca smiled before continued. She strode with unusual grace, something which had disappeared from her lately, Lucca noted. The purple-eyed girl walked at her friend's side, glancing at the crowd often. They were all dirty and dressed in rags, though the rags were significantly cleaner, and some even wore skins. Perhaps, this was their "best clothes".

The pair entered the cave, and Lucca was filled with even more wonder than when she would first entered Algetty. The cave was bare compared to Khadgara's, or even more so, Kajar, but it easily rivaled most of the houses in Truce Village. There were a lot less people inside than outside, but there was a multitude of relatively comfortable chairs and tables set up containing refreshments. An Earthbound woman was directing the procession down a number of ladders and through the door that held the waiting room, where they were to place their possessions during the negotiations. There were five Earthbound guards standing outside the "door" (a hole in the cave covered with an ornate flap of hide), but the Zealian guards insisted on taking care of security procedures. The land-dwelling guards were in no position to argue.

"Are you guys going to start already? I wanted to explore the place with you." Lucca asked, whispering. There was no reason too, as exploration wasn't illegal or something, but the purple-haired girl felt compelled to keep conversations limited to just her and the second person.

"Yeah, we'll start now. I'll like to linger and party, but the rest don't have the same intentions." She answered, an air of disappointment about her. The princess sighed as she entered the door, and Lucca followed.

The room was extremely large, but held forty only well-organized chairs, and large banquet-like tables in front of them. Both the tables and chairs were constructed from modest-looking wood and were more than enough for the forty diplomats. Lucca noted that there wasn't any place for her to sit, but she wasn't in the mood for discussions anyway. She would linger and participate in the festivities organized for this reception until the others were finished. Perhaps, she would stick around some more before heading back to the city, but that would mean making the walk back alone, the plane being gone, and worst of all, leaving Schala alone. Lucca could almost predict the more radical Zealians biting the girl's head off on their way back for her much more moderate views.

Lucca left the room bypassing the ten guards that stood at attention outside the cave. Again, Lucca wondered what was the need for them. Most of the ambassadors were elders well-studied in magic and its applications. They were certainly powerful enough to defend themselves. Besides, the worst that could happen was a sneaky Earthbound pickpocket attempting a pretty robbery of someone's spare headband, or one of the older ambassador's walking staff. Even that wouldn't happen for fear of execution.

The rooms had begun to fill with the people that had been previously standing outside. They siphoned through the large cave entrance to various parts of the massive village of Algetty, most returning to the recesses of the mountain were most of the "houses" were located, intent on returning to their work. Unlike Zealians, Earthbounds had very little free time, their existence mostly consisting of hunting, cooking, making clothing and furniture, and so on. Lucca walked to the first room she had entered, desperate for something to eat. She had spotted some cookies on her way in. How the Earthbound Ones had gotten the wheat to make the dough necessary for the cookie was a mystery still to be resolved. Nothing grew other than the sturdiest of trees. To think that, in a few thousand years, the area would be littered with plant life.

"Lucca!" a voice called in excitement. Lucca turned her head to find the source of the voice, and found Hexia waving from far away. Exholia was trailing behind, playing with a piece of cloth, until she too spotted Lucca and ran to hug her.

"Lukwa!" the girl said, leaping into Lucca's arms. A number of people turned to face this, as if expecting a reaction of some kind. Perhaps, hugging an Enlightened One was impermissible under normal circumstances. _I wouldn't be surprised if it was a sin…_

"How's my favorite little girl?" Lucca said warmly, kissing the child on the cheek before placing her back on the ground. Lucca offered the girl half of the cookie, which she took reluctantly.

"What's wrong? It's very good." Lucca said in surprised when Exholia hesitated. Eventually, the girl smiled and stuffed it into her small mouth, chewing happily. Hexia gave her daughter a mindful look, before looking back at Lucca.

"The children aren't allowed to have any of the food meant for the visitors. I would have punished her had you not offered first," Hexia explained, upon seeing Lucca's confusion. "Which is silly, since they never eat what we offer them. Well, none besides the elders or Schala. I suppose the food is too lowly for them." She added sarcastically. Lucca could sense the scorn in her voice. Perhaps she still held that mysterious grudge against Zealians, even after one year since Lucca had seen her. Hexia shooed her daughter away, signifying that she wanted to speak with Lucca alone. The little girl gave Lucca a quick hug around the waist, and ran off to the recesses of the village.

"Anyway…what brings you here? Are you a guard?" Hexia asked. Lucca shook her head.

"I'm Schala's visitor. She offered for me to come, and I didn't want to disappoint her." Lucca explained, the two walking unconsciously near another part of the room. Lucca made sure to snag a few more cookies on the way.

"Hwauant hwon?" Lucca offered, holding a cookie out. Hexia took it and ate the snack slowly.

"It's better to eat it now, so we don't have to throw it away later." She said, almost as a defense for her acceptance of the forbidden food. Lucca nodded, and the two women spent the rest of their time catching up with each other.

Before Lucca knew it, an intermission had been called, and the negotiatory party streamed out of the councilroom. Lucca headed into the waiting room, and noticed Schala sitting at a chair near the middle of the forty arranged in a row. She looked exhausted.

"How'd it go? Any luck?" Lucca asked anxiously. Schala sighed.

"The Earthbound ones proposed the annexation in exchange for two thousand bundles of wheat that they would use for the rest of the winter, before their own started growing. We could have ended this right then. It was reasonable enough, but the four elders, Khadgara's husband and I were outnumbered in our agreement thirty-four to six. The other diplomats are demanding 750 bundles instead. That's barely enough to feed all the Earthbound for a few weeks." Schala said sadly. Lucca patted the woman on the back.

"Relax, relax. Let's take a walk around, so you can get some fresh air." Lucca proposed. Schala agreed.

"Just give me a second. You can go ahead. I need to ponder a bit." Schala said. Lucca mentioned that it was easier to ponder while eating or walking around in the barren fields outside, but Schala reiterated that she would be done soon.

Lucca left the girl to herself, and headed back up the stairs. She saw Hexia standing behind the refreshment table, apparently on duty for serving the guests that were currently in intermission. Exholia was sitting down in a chair at the other end of the room, playing with a piece of cloth.

"Excuse me…" a voice said from behind Lucca. It was Lady Kasmarek, and she hastily walked in front of Lucca, obviously in a rush to do something. The Enlightened One walked towards Hexia, who sat behind the table.

"Where are the bathrooms?" She asked with a slight sneer. Lucca assumed the poor woman couldn't help but act superior at every available opportunity.

"Head through that door, down the hall, first door to your right." Hexia answered. The Zealian crossed her arms.

"I hope it isn't as dirty as the rest of this place." Lady Kasmarek said sardonically. Hexia noticeably cringed, but forced in a fake smile. Exholia was staring at the exchange in surprise.

"I assure you, it isn't, milady." Hexia said, her voice quivering heavily, as if she was restraining herself from assaulting the woman in front of her. Lady Kasmarek huffed, and began to walk towards the door, when she noticed Exholia staring at her intensely, her dark eyes brimming with curiousity.

"And what are you looking at? Are you stupid?" The lady spat. Perhaps being stared at that way was destabilizing for her. Lucca saw Hexia cringe again, and ball her fists. Exholia gave a small 'oh', and strode forward reluctantly. Lady Kasmarek looked at her in disgust. The girl got on one knee, and reached for the Lady's hand. She was going to kiss it, a customary sign of respect.

"Don't touch me, you dirty thing! I don't want to be any filthier than this place is making me!" She said, pulling her hand back. The girl was taken aback by the harsh words, and started to walk backwards towards her chair, her eyes brimming with unspilt tears. Hexia rose from her place, and walked in front of her child.

"How dare you. What do you think gives you the power to insult a little girl like this!" Hexia said, her voice shaking with rage. Lady Kasmarek smirked haughtily.

"Don't waste my time. I've had enough wasted talking with those swine." She spoke contemptuously. Hexia stared at the woman straight in the eye.

"You're wasting our time. You know what, you stupid woman? You are the lowest form of existence on this planet," Hexia said. The Lady gasped at the insult. "I don't understand what satisfaction you get from attacking my children, but it doesn't make her inferior to you. Quite the opposite, in fact." Hexia hissed, never breaking her monotonous tone. Lucca stared at the two intently, as silence passed between the two. Silence ensued, and a cold wind blew in from the entrance of the cave, which they were standing right in front of.

"H-ho-how dare you!" Lady Kasmarek said, still in shock. Hexia continued to glare at the woman, her fists shaking at her sides. Lucca could see her knees quaking with anger.

"You don't deserve to live up there. Acting high-and-mighty from a privilege you did nothing to deserve…you make me sick." She said this last part much calmer than the rest of her speech. A number of people turned to face the two. Lady Kasmarek was seething, even more so than Hexia had been a few moments before.

"You Earthbound bitch!" She said in rage. The Lady brought her hands together, her eyes wild with fury, as a white vortex contorted above her head. The lightning in it grew larger, slowly taking up more and more of the massive room. It gave off bright white light and an overbearing scent of sulfur. Lucca could easily tell what Lady Kasmarek was doing. It was the first stage in the casting of Luminaire. Soon, the ball would come to take up all of the room, and it would explode frying everything in it. Insanity. Not only were there innocents inside the room, but such a powerful spell inside a cave could easily make the mountain collapse.

Lucca was speechless. This couldn't be happening. What madness had gripped these two. It would kill everyone here.

"Lady Kasmarek! Stop it this instant!" Schala screamed, running up the stairs. Lucca held a hand out to stop the Princess, though her eyes didn't move from the white ball that hung in the air. The lightning was reflected in her eyes, making them seem white as the snow outside. White as the spark that would set the lightning into an amazing explosion, vaporizing whatever its essence could get its hands on.

"Shut up! I'll kill her!" The Lady said. The ball was about ready to be launched. It wasn't as large as Lucca had seen Crono make it, but it was certainly enough to produce an explosion strong enough to destabilize the mountain. Lucca felt something to her left. Her eyes turned to Hexia. A red aura was around her, her eyes glowing amber. Fire rose from her body, lifting her hair off her back, her clothes off her skin. The fire took a mind of its own, swaying in the air like a snake, the sound of crackling flames imitating that of a hiss. Wait. How was this possible? Earthbounds couldn't use magic!

"What's going on here?" Lady Kasmarek screamed, just as surprised as Lucca was. As if heaving greatly, she pushed her hands forward. The ball moved according to its master's orders, swaying listlessly towards the great snake that continued to mount. The snake flung its head forward, striking the ball of lightning with unimaginable force. Light flailed through the room. Women shrieked, grabbing their children and running to the back of the mountain. Schala stared in shock, Lucca in amazement. Exholia ran to Lucca's side, grabbing her leg in fear. She couldn't have possibly imagined that her mother was capable of such a thing.

A crowd began to form, consisting mostly of soldiers and diplomats, and whatever Earthbound were courageous to remain. All were a measurable distant away. The ball faltered, pushing back towards its master. The snake had lost its form, now just pure magical form, its scales reverting back into embers, its fangs into scythes of flames, impaling the lightning. The ball crackled and sizzled in weakness, its defeat imminent. In an instant, it dispersed, the fire victorious. It assumed the form of a snake again, plummeting towards its intended target, striking Lady Kasmarek in the chest, and propelling the woman outside the cave into the snow-laden, permafrost ground. Smoke rose from the defeated's chest, her body limp and unconscious.

Hexia sighed, her anger quenched. She walked over to the closest chair, and a lengthy silence gripped her and the crowd. She closed her eyes, as if waiting for something, or someone. Exholia whimpered on Lucca's leg, and cried. Schala stared, wide-eyed, her eyes darting from Hexia to Lady Kasmarek's smoldering form lying outside Terra Cave's entrance. The crowd stared at the woman that beheld their eyes: she sat in the chair, her eyes closed, her hands folded across her lap. A man stepped out of the crowd and pointed accusingly at her.

"Arrest this woman!" he spat, rage in his voice. Lucca continued to stare, as did the rest of the crowd. There was nothing that could be said, no action that could explain the spectacle that had just occurred in less than five minutes. A guard shuffled, the another, then another, until there was five of them, gripping Hexia's arms, raising her to her feet, declaring her arrest under the name of Her Majesty, Queen Zeal. Lucca could still not speak, could still not move, sounds only registering as faint murmurs. But her eyes were aware. Her eyes had been aware the whole time, and her eyes were aware when a smile came and went, in a split second, on Hexia's fair face.


	13. Incarcerations

Chapter 13.

Disclaimer: Standards apply. I own all original characters, but steal them if you want.

** Date: 12004 B.C.**

The conference had been called off immediately.

The younger, more radical diplomats denounced the Earthbound repeatedly, calling them scoundrels, accusing them of having brainwashed an Enlightened One into attacking them. A number of them clamored that the land should be taken by force as 'revenge'. Lucca didn't see how the Earthbound were responsible. Hexia could have only acted out of her own free will.

What angered her the most was the fervor with which the Zealians flaunted their strength, claiming that they had stopped the felon before things got out of hand. Had Lucca been the only one awake? Hadn't Hexia _sat down_ immediately after Lady Kasmarek lost consciousness? Hadn't it taken what seemed like hours before someone spoke up to urge the guards to arrest her? Hexia could have run away, and they could have done nothing. The worst offense possible in Lucca's eyes was taking credit when it wasn't due.

The procession left Terra Cave immediately, in utter silence. Lucca was silent as well, still downcast from the events. Exholia had wept uncontrollably when her mother was taken from her in front of her eyes. She clung to Lucca, begging her to make it all better, but the purple-haired mage could do nothing. To assault the guards for the sole purpose of returning a criminal to her daughter would be suicide. Lucca would fail, and be executed for being an accomplice. It was a lose-lose situation.

No one else in the crowd spoke. Hexia and her guards were far ahead from the rest of the group. They were to head to the Skygate, where the Earthbound would be incarcerated upon reaching Zeal. Hexia's eyes were staring straight ahead in a stoicism that rivaled the military's, seemingly concentrating on something far off. The wind blew mercilessly, yet she seldom blinked.

Lady Kasmarek was being brought back to the islands on a stretcher, being carried by a pair of guards a few meters ahead of Lucca. The Lady had been hit right above her heart; the affected skin was charred and sweltering. If fourth-degree burns existed, that would have been one of them. Lucca found it improbably that she would survive before they could reach Zeal and one of its hospitals.

"Put her down for a second, please." Schala said in a small whisper, addressing herself to one of the guards holding the stretcher. The two guardsmen placed her on the dense snow. The procession halted altogether, staring at Schala.

The princess got on her knees, her robes becoming soaked in the slightly moist snow that lay all over the plain the group was currently trekking. Her hands clasped together, Schala shut her eyes, her lips moving ever so slightly in a silent prayer. She placed a palm on the burn mark, and watched the violated flesh slowly revert to normal skin, a scar at the point of impact being the only evidence that the Lady had been injured. Schala placed the index and middle fingers of her right hand on Kasmarek's jugular vein, feeling for a pulse. Lucca knew she had found one when she sighed, smiling softly.

Practically the entire crowd had been watching in admiration, including Hexia (though still being restrained). Lucca thought they would erupt into applause, but they simply continued walking, silent.

"I thought you hated her." Lucca said simply when Schala returned to her side.

"I do. But I must do whatever I can for my people." She responded in the same tone that Lucca had used. It was unbelievable how devoted the Princess was. Had Lucca been the one to ask them to lower the stretcher, she would have stabbed the Lady, making sure to spit on her corpse before walking off. _I suppose that's why we're opposites._

Thoughts of the myth immediately assaulted Lucca's mind, and her mood worsened.

Lucca sat outside Kajar, leaning against the city's marble walls. Lucca waited anxiously for Schala to return. The princess had attended an emergency deliberation of Hexia's fate, and Lucca was impatiently waiting to find out what the decision was. She secretly wished that Hexia would be imprisoned, then sent back to the surface. The act was utter self-defense. Had the Earthbound not counterattacked, the entire cave would have probably collapsed, so she prevented the potential death of forty of Zeal Kingdom's most influential diplomats. There was no way Hexia could receive a sentence any worse than imprisonment, but a thorough investigation would be held to find out how she acquired such potent magic.

The rumor had already spread to most of the city, and a number of people swore that the Earthbound had brainwashed one of them. Lucca shouldn't have been surprised that they would look for a way to denounce the entire land-dwelling population.

"They are going to kill her in five days." A voice said. Lucca got up immediately, still not aware of what Schala had said. She only stared at the Princess in disbelief, knowing the result was bad from the Schala's expression, but unsure of what the Zealian had said.

"The death penalty was issued by a vote of 93 to 6. And," Schala said, her voice faltering with uncertainty, "Mother supported the bid for execution, so we had no chance to begin with." She concluded. Lucca stared wide-eyed, clenching her fists to her side. Hexia was going to die? For saving every freaking last one of them there? For knocking that bitch Kasmarek out before she murdered 90 of the Earthbound population and Zeal Kingdom's Crown Princess! She was going to die for **_THAT_**?

Lucca shook with fury. She felt an urge to kill somebody. She swore to herself that she would murder the next person who walked past her, exiting the city, in cold blood, ripping their limbs to pieces. If Lady Kasmarek had the misfortune of recovering while Lucca was alive, the Zealian would find herself burning into ash.

The desire to expel her magic grew more forceful than ever. Queen Zeal…had voted to kill Hexia? What the hell? Didn't she hear the testimonials? Were there any **_fucking _**testimonials to start with? Did she just sentence her to death without knowing what had happened! Couldn't she give Hexia that much for saving her daughter's **_life_**?

"Lucca! Lucca, calm down!" Schala said, grabbing Lucca's shaking arm, her face contorted in a mixture of concern and sadness.

"**DON'T TOUCH ME!"** Lucca roared, snatching her arm back. Schala gasped and took a step backwards, her eyes widened. Lucca could see the fear in the Princess' eyes at her outburst, but she didn't care. She was going to see her Majesty that instant and reverse the decision, even if it meant beating some sense into the Queen.

Lucca didn't wait a moment to barge through the city, heading for the Queen's chambers at the back of Kajar. Zeal would not return to the palace until next week, being that most of the heavy negotiations at this time of the year were over. It only made Lucca's anticipation boil over, knowing that she could make sense out of this whole mess. She was too angry to be aware of her surroundings, heading instinctively for the inner courtyards. She was sprinting as fast as her legs could take her, not relenting even though her muscles ached painfully, demanding rest. The entrance to the courtyard was yards away.

"Queen Zeal is not taking visitors into her quarters currently. Please – HEY, GET BACK HERE!" The guard to the inner section of Kajar screamed after Lucca, who had darted past him. He followed her, bringing his hands together to cast a spell. A structure of ice entangled Lucca's feet, rendering her immobile. The guard came closer.

"What do you think you're doing, little girl? Didn't you hear me?" He said. It rang in as incomprehensible mumbles to Lucca's ears. All she knew was that someone was trying to stop her, and they would pay for their interloping.

The ice around her feet melted from the sheer heat expelled by her rage. She turned her head to face the interloper, her ordinarily purple eyes blood-red, her canines bared savagely. She strode ominously towards the guard, who was in shock at her having escaped his spell in such a fashion.

"What the hell…" He muttered, bringing his hands together for another spell. Before he could complete his incantation, a fist charged with fire struck his stomach, making him reel over. Lucca kicked him across the face, sending the guard's body hurtling into the courtyard walls at several dozen miles per hour.

Her focus restored on Queen Zeal's room, Lucca continued her sprint. She had been dangerously close to losing her sanity right then, dangerously close to snapping. Had it happened, the guard would have had no body parts left to be identified.

The massive outcropping that held Queen Zeal's private room on Kajar was nearly right in front of Lucca. Two guards stood at the entrance, but Lucca swiftly elbowed one in the chest, catching him by surprise and driving him into the wall. The second guard was flabbergasted at his comrade being felled so quickly, and reached for his sword. A jet of molten rock impacted his chest before the blade left its holster.

The door burst into flames, and Lucca ran inside. Queen Zeal was looking outside a window when Lucca barged in.

"I don't recall inviting you here, Lu-" Queen Zeal said, cut off when Lucca grabbed her collar forcefully. Somehow, the purple-haired mage had summon enough strength to practically lift the Queen off the ground.

"**CUT THE FUCKING CRAP!" **Lucca screamed. Queen Zeal furrowed her brows, and slapped Lucca's hand off of her robes. Losing her self-restraint, Lucca drew back her fist, unconsciously summoning fire into it, and propelled it at the monarch. Anticipating the hit, Queen Zeal grabbed Lucca's arm with one hand, and slapped Lucca hard across the cheek with her other. The blow was strong enough to send Lucca into the carpeted floor. Snapped out of her frenzy, Lucca felt her cheek, unsure of how the burning sensation had gotten there. She looked up at Queen Zeal, and felt her rage returning. This time, it came out in the form of tears.

"Shhh…calm down. It's alright." Queen Zeal whispered, coming to her knees and embracing Lucca's sobbing figure. She held Lucca for a few minutes longer, until the girl showed signs of calming down. It was certainly an awkward moment. Second ago, Lucca had been trying to cave her Majesty's face in.

"H-how could you…how could you take her life…" Lucca said wistfully, her tears stemmed but her newfound sadness ever-present. Zeal stroked Lucca's long purple hair a few times before getting to her feet.

"She chose her fate." Queen Zeal answered simply. Lucca shook again, unable to accept that answer. She lacked the energy to stand up, however, and remained on the floor. Tears flowed down her cheeks, this time in frustration.

"Bullshit! She saved Schala's life, and you're going to kill her as a reward?" Lucca screamed, her vision blurred by tears. Queen Zeal had had her back turned, but faced Lucca once more.

"I won't explain anything to you until you stop acting like a spoiled brat." Queen Zeal said matter-of-factly. Lucca looked downward, and wiped her tears on her sleeve in sadness. Once Lucca had stopped sniffing, Queen Zeal began.

"The rule is that any injury inflicted to an Enlightened One by an Earthbound will lead to a punishment of 750 lashes. Any inflicted injury that could not immediately be healed by a cure spell would equal death, and Lady Kasmarek will probably be unconscious for the next few months. As much as I didn't want to, I had to respect the rules." Queen Zeal said.

"But it was in self-defense! A-and Kasmarek had been spouting words of treason the whole time! Who cares how long she stays in a coma!"

"I am aware of Mabria's words. However, she is the only person who had been alive before Zeal Kingdom's creation besides the Gurus. She may look young, but she ages several thousands of years. She has as much authority, if not more, than I do." Zeal explained. Lucca was clearly not satisfied.

"But you're the ruler! Your word is law!" Lucca answered.

"Of course, but I try to avoid any negativity between councilmembers. She has been jealous of me ever since I inherited the throne from my father, a position that she had been seeking for ages. Mabria has been rallying people to her cause for a while now, trying to evict me, but she doesn't have much support. If I were to disregard our laws because of my personal feelings, it can only lead to problems."

Lucca nodded in comprehension.

"Hexia isn't an Earthbound to start with, you know. She was born here a few hundred years ago." Queen Zeal said softly. Lucca listened attentively. She had been sure of that already. Hexia looked nothing like the other Earthbounds. For one thing, her face was much more distinct and angular, a trait almost unseen in land-dwellers. Secondly, she was too beautiful. Under any other circumstance, Lucca would have deemed that an unsatisfactory justification, but Hexia was always graceful and majestic, appearing too healthy and striking to be an Earthbound mother.

"How come she was living down there? Was she banished or something?" Lucca asked. Queen Zeal shook her head.

"She chose to live on the surface. I'll let her tell you that story though." Her Majesty said. Lucca frowned.

"I doubt the guards would let me in, wherever she is." Lucca responded. Queen Zeal quickly relayed Lucca the location of Hexia's cell.

"I've already order the guards to let you in. Hexia will be expecting you." The monarch answered. Lucca got to her feet, intent on resolving this drama once and for all. Her curiosity had already peaked.

"Oh, and Lucca." Queen Zeal said, as Lucca turned to leave. The purple-haired girl turned around in acknowledgement. "A week from now, when Hexia is to be punished…I want you to conduct the execution."

"WHAT?" Lucca asked in disbelief. Was this a joke? Hadn't Queen Zeal seen Lucca's outburst?

"Do you want to know why I'm doing this? Because you need to learn how to kill." Queen Zeal said bluntly. Lucca's eyes widened. "For you to be successful in the future, you need to learn how to take the life of another human being and not regret it. It's the only way you can achieve your goals and protect the people who are dear to you."

"I…I don't understand. Why do I have to kill her? I'm in enough pain already. I can't do it…" Lucca whispered sadly, looking down.

"After the deed is done, your questions will be answered." Queen Zeal said. Lucca turned to leave, before a thought struck her. _For you to be successful in the future, you need to learn how to take the life of another human being and not regret it_. If that wasn't a reference to Lucca being the phoenix of darkness, there didn't exist one. Lucca suddenly felt her anger flare up. She had so many questions, but was unsure how to phrase them.

"Why did you put me through all that training if you knew the myth? If you knew Schala and I were going to kill each other? Did you WANT your daughter to die?" Lucca said spitefully. Queen Zeal stared at her in surprise. Surprise turned to amusement, and Lucca found Queen Zeal laughing earnestly.

"What the hell is so funny?" Lucca asked angrily.

"I thought you would have paid more attention to what you read. Schala isn't your opponent." Queen Zeal answered. Lucca gasped in surprise.

"You mean I'm not the phoenix of darkness. It was wrong!" Lucca asked gleefully. She could escape this nightmare at last.

"I never said that. But Schala still isn't your opponent."

"I don't understand! Everything condition the myth proposed has been met!" Lucca muttered in outrage. She had thought this fiasco had had nothing to do with her for a few seconds, but felt let down.

"You will understand soon enough. Go see Hexia now." Queen Zeal answered plainly. Lucca was still confused.

"Answer me now!" Lucca said, her anger mounting once again. Unexpectedly, Queen Zeal embraced Lucca, silencing both her voice and her rage. Lucca rested her head on the older woman's shoulder, waiting for her to let go. She had come her confused and had left even more so. Perhaps she would be left in the dark forever.

"Lucca, pay close attention to watch I am about to tell you," Queen Zeal whispered into Lucca's ear. The girl nodded. "We all have a purpose in this world. You have probably found yours already, or you will soon. My purpose is to bring the two phoenixes together by whatever means necessary. A middleman, you might call me. That was why I let you stay in Zeal, even though it was painfully obvious that you were a foreigner. That was why I trained you and Schala, so that when you met your opponents, you would be ready. I know I shouldn't have exposed you to all of this. Your life would have been normal had it not been for me. But I had to fulfill my duty to the Gods. Forgive for doing so. Please." She said earnestly. Lucca closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around the monarch's back. Lucca felt so at home, so safe. She felt like she could let all her insecurities go at this moment. Queen Zeal was more like a mother now than Lucca's real mother had ever been. Lucca had finally accepted her life for what it had become. She knew her purpose. There was no more hiding, no more reluctance. . She no longer felt any need to, for her soul was purified, and it was time to write the final chapter in her reality. How it would come, she did not know, but Lucca would meet her fate with open arms. She would hold nothing back, and Lucca didn't.

She cried.

Well, yea. OoC, fine.


	14. Conflagrations

14, again, unedited. My little dividers don't show up…

Disclaimer: Standards apply.

Lucca headed down to the prison, which was buried deep within the base of the stone structure that held Zeal Kingdom at its peak. The guards had refused to let her see the prisoner, and she was ready to resort to violence until a runner arrived from the Queen's chambers stating that Lucca was to be given as much time as she wanted with the prisoner, and that she was not to be disturbed. Unwilling to disobey a royal decree, the guards gave her passage.

"Hexia…?" Lucca asked reluctantly. The Earthbound woman was sitting on the cold floor, her face buried in her arms, the latter wrapped around her frail knees. She was wearing the same rags she bore upon her arrest and incarceration, and it seemed that she wasn't shackled. The room itself had very little light other than a tiny chandelier with one spoke hanging listlessly from the earthen ceiling. Other than this, there was an oaken table and chair in a corner, as well as a bed in the corner. Even though the cell was intended to be dingy, whichever Enlightened One tended to it did a good job of keeping the bed and table sparklingly clean.

"Huh…oh, Lucca." She said unemotionally, looking up. Her eyes held deep bags, and she was pale and fairly gaunt. It was as if the spirit had been drained out of her, and Lucca was taken aback at seeing the woman's condition.

"How are you?" Lucca said, sitting down next to the Earthbound on the cold ground. Hexia brought her hands down to the ground slowly and sighed. Lucca waited patiently for an answer, though she already knew Hexia would answer, nonchalantly:

"Fine."

_The overstatement of the century_, Lucca thought. Looking down, the purple-eyed girl pondered how to phrase her next statement. It would be painful, regardless of how she put it, so there was no need to do any embellishing.

"I have to execute you." Lucca spoke curtly. Hexia nodded, not turning to face Lucca. She didn't seem particularly shocked, but she hadn't been emotional at all since Lucca entered the cell. She expected the woman to at least gasp, or sigh again. Instead, Hexia simply sat there.

"I was born in Enhasa." The woman said unexpectedly. Lucca averted her gaze to the woman's somber eyes. If Hexia was in fact a Zealian, why would she choose to live in the nearly inhabitable surface?

"Why did you-" Lucca asked, but was cut off when Hexia placed a finger on her lips.

"You know perfectly well. My late father was in charge of relations with the Earthbound, and I was chosen to be his apprentice. I had to sit through 500 years of endless meetings, deliberations, and demagoguery all in the name of 'justice'. I hated my kind. They were all bigots, haughty and proud of something they did nothing to earn. I couldn't stay, or I was afraid I would do or say something I would regret." She said calmly. She was staring right into Lucca's eyes as she said this, and the girl couldn't help but stare back at the older woman. Lucca thought the exact same thing about the Enlightened Ones, and would have exploded even more violently had Schala hadn't been the one to break the news of the verdict.

"I ran away on the anniversary of Zeal Kingdom. They sent out countless search parties, all looking for a young woman that was supposedly kidnapped by someone. A few idiots wanted to use my disappearance as an excuse to abuse the Earthbound even more, but they had no evidence. After running away, I had nowhere to go but Algetty, and the people there accepted me with open arms." Hexia continued. Lucca knew the monologue was over once Hexia broke eye contact.

"But why? Why did you blast Kasmarek like that? Why couldn't you send Exholia away or something?" Lucca asked frantically. It still didn't make sense in her mind.

"Because-", Hexia said, stopping as if thinking of how to continue, "because I had seen that so many times, and I had never done anything about it. I remember a little boy being insulted with every derogatory term possible because he tripped over an Enlightened One. The boy ran to his room crying, and I was the only Zealian in the room who wanted to comfort him, but couldn't for fear of the consequences. When I saw the same thing happening to my daughter, I snapped. That's all it was. I lost my composure." She stated, recalling the images as if it had just happened. There was no uncertainty in her voice, as Lucca had expected. This was all so strange.

"I…I guess that answers my question. I'm sorry. I'm sorry all of this happened. It was all my fault…" Lucca said somberly. Hexia placed a hand on the younger girl's knee.

"You did nothing. Don't beat yourself up. Besides, I would be honored if you conducted the execution. I requested it, after all." Hexia said. Lucca raised her eyebrows at this revelation, but she had expected such a statement. Queen Zeal wouldn't just come up with such an idea, considering she wasn't even fully aware that Lucca had gone to the surface with the Princess.

"Hexia…I'll never forget you." Lucca muttered slowly. She could almost feel tears surging to her eyes, but she refused to lose her equanimity again. She had no need to cry, but only needed to accept her fate. She had to do this, whether she wanted to or not.

"I won't forget you either." Hexia said. She held Lucca's face between her hands, and kissed the girl's forehead affectionately, as an older sister would have. Lucca's spirits immediately rose when Hexia smiled warmly, her face radiating despite its malnourishment. She beamed at Lucca for a moment, simply staring into the girl's eyes and smiling, until she closed her lids, and bade Lucca a warm farewell.

The day of execution came quickly. It came like a storm. The kingdom seemed silent and news of the event quickly spread to everyone in Zeal. Yet, on the assigned day, there was a flurry of activity, with people swarming to the point of execution outside Enhasa at dusk in order to observe the spectacle. Oddly, this is what people saw it as. A spectacle, and nothing more. They came to be wowed by the murder of a seemingly innocent woman. They came to see her head lopped off, or to see her hanged, or drawn and quartered. Either way, they came to see death. It was incomprehensible why one would wish to see another human being lose their life, but the people came in droves, children giggling at the thought of attending their very first public execution, since those where uncommon on the islands. It became part of their schedule for the day, like a trip to a carnival or a get-together with one's friend. Actually, it was exactly both of these, and that was what made it so repulsive.

Lucca sat inside the massive ring of people. Her eyes were closed as she attempted to gather the nerve required for the action she was assigned to. In a heightened throne, yards from the procession were Queen Zeal, Schala, and the Gurus, viewing the execution as was required. Hexia sat in the center of the ring, visible to the hordes of spectators hungry for blood. Her eyes were open, her hair tied, her body adorned in the customary robes of one condemned to death. She kept her eyes forward, not turning her head to the jeers from the crowd, or the inquiries of curious children. In a few minutes, the sun would strike an enclosed crystal at a pre-positioned spot, which would refract the light into a number of pedestals, each bearing an enchanted torch. The torches would burst into flame to light the procession as soon as the sun struck it.

Time seemed to slow down. Lucca rehearsed what she would do. It had all been clearly instructed, as the ceremony required precision. Hexia was declared an enemy of the state, and as such she would have no final world like others condemned to death, and Lucca would perform a rite in which she would create a number of seals on the ground in a particular order. These seals were believed to be the spirits of the founders of Zeal, who would condemn the criminal to eternal suffering for defiling the kingdom they had created. Then, once the seals were made, they would erupt into blue pillars, contrasting with the red fire of the torches. That would be the signal of Lucca's final stroke, and that would be the signal for Hexia's death.

The sun set, and its rays seeped through a hole in the crystal's enclosure. The crystal had been hit; it glowed red, its fire spreading across the area and lighting the seven torches. The crowd murmured; children stared in awe. Each torch burst into flame one by one. Each torch reflected in Hexia's unresponsive eyes. Each drew a breath from Lucca, unsettling her every so slightly. The seven torches lit, Lucca began. Walking slowly, she used her index finger to make the seal of Zeal. It lay on the dirt as she moved to the next area, and made the next seal on the ground. The crowd remained silent, and Lucca felt herself cracking under their gazes. She almost misconstructed the fifth seal, but luckily rectified her mistake before her finger reached the soil. Two seals later, the designated areas glowed purplish and blue. Blue flame erupted from them, and blue fire arose in a great pillar that reached above Queen Zeal's throne. A gasp came from the crowd as the fire surged from all seven seals, all at once, making a 14-sided figure around Hexia and Lucca. The stage was set.

Lucca concentrated a ball of flame into her palm, and using her well-developed magical prowess, molded it into the form of a sword. The sword glowed red and gave off embers, but maintained its shape. The executor took a small step forward, and the crowd swallowed their tongues almost simultaneously. Schala squirmed uncomfortably in her velvety chair, and her mother patted her thigh from besides her.

Lucca took a second step, leaving her about six more steps away. Before long, she stood directly behind Hexia's sitting form. The execution would be simple: a thrust down the spine, destroying and grilling the spinal cord before the criminal felt any pain. But, for some reason, Lucca was unable to move her arm. Her legs shook forcefully as she finally managed to lift the sword into position, where she would bring it downward to cleave Hexia's spine. But her muscles wouldn't react. She began hyperventilating; her knees bucked and her elbows smacked against each other as she held the sword over Hexia's back.

_Do it…_

Lucca flexed her triceps, telling them to react as her mind wanted, but they failed to respond.

_Do it, Lucca…_

The crowd murmured, unsettling her further.

_Do it_.

Hexia visibly flinched, waiting for Lucca to ask.

_Do it._

Her muscles didn't move.

**_Do it._**

Her arms were still, and the sword wavered, losing its forms.

**_DO IT, LUCCA!_**

She brought the sword down suddenly. It sheared the skin, cleaving the vertebrae and what the bones sought to protect. Her eyes were closed, and all she felt was Hexia's body fall limply off the chair, and the smell of burning flesh. Lucca gasped for air. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Her heart refused to function properly, fluxuating in violent spasms, akin to a broken watch. She opened her eyes, calming herself, correcting her hearing. And she heard what she never would have imagined. Laughter. Applause. Cheering. They were _happy._

Lucca snapped. The panic that has assailed her was replaced by inconceivable fury, and anyone paying attention to her change in expression knew that there would be casualties.

"**WHAT THE FUCK!"** She yelled for the entire crowd to listen. A number of children whimpered at her angry words, and their mothers gasped, clapping their hands over the boys and girls' ears.

"ARE YOU PEOPLE INSANE? SHE FUCKING DIED BECAUSE SOME BITCH FELT COCKY, AND YOU HAD THE NERVE TO CLAP?"Lucca shouted angrily. More people gasped at her obscenities.

"You stupid bastards…I swear, you will pay. YOU WILL PAY!"

Pretty short, I guess


	15. Outbreak

Well, something weird happened to my membership. All of a sudden, all my stories got deleted and my account disappeared. Maybe this will be fixed by the server, but I'll keep making chapters so I can upload all at once after I find out what's going on.

Can you believe it? All that info lost. Thankfully, I have backups of most of my work, but still…argh.

I'll answer reviews next chapter, because I'm feeling inspired and I don't want to lose my streak because I was answering reviews! Let's get this started.

Disclaimer: Standards apply.

An eerie silence hung over the entire crowd. Hearts and minds raved at what they had just heard.

Schala shot to her feet almost immediately and peered forward, her mouth hanging slightly open at Lucca's ominous statement. Everyone nervously shifted in their seats, while a few brave souls sneered. Either way, no one made a sound.

Lucca stood in the center of the large crowd, Hexia's body laying next to her. Her chest heaved forcefully, as if she was trying very hard to restraint herself from attacking someone, while her eyes gleamed, scanning the crowd aimlessly, unsure of how the hundreds of people around her would react. Her mind raced, trying to find the most vicious way to repay their insolence, and the idea came quickly to her.

"Don't talk big words, little girl. Just be lucky that wasn't you up there, since what you said can be considered a death threat." A broad shouldered, blue-haired man roared over the crowd, standing up and making himself visible to Lucca. He was one of the few people who had been mocking her display of anger, and the contemptuous expression he wore reinforced this notion.

Lucca's head spun around to face the man. He was making his way to the center or the circle, perhaps to talk some sense into her or to perform a feat of public humiliation. It made no real difference. Lucca continued to glare, thinking of the best way to decapitate this man, to rip him limb from limb and use him as an outlet for her pent-up magic, her anger, he frustration, her sadness, everything. But one man wasn't enough, of course.

"He's right, you know. The executioner is privileged enough already, so don't push your luck." A blond, youthful woman said, coming to her feet a few yards away from Lucca, to the right. The purple-haired girl had began seething, her teeth clenched and her fists shaking as she struggled to restraint herself. If she heard one more word, the one who uttered it would bleed.

"Now, how about you take that back, missy, instead of making enemies?" The same blue-haired man said. Lucca actually managed to produce a grin, despite her violent emotional state. _So, you really want to see me making enemies?_ She pondered. Lucca started walking towards him in slow, deliberate steps, her odd maniacal grin taking him aback.

"What are you so happy about?" He asked in confusion. Lucca failed to answer and started chuckling. She stood right in front of the man, and in an instant, punched him square across the face, propelling him a ways off. The crowd gasped.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You're so lucky I don't fight women, regardless of how bitchy they are!" He yelled in frustration after landing a few feet away, nursing his stricken cheek with his left hand. Lucca continued to chuckle, and kicked the man's stomach with as much strength as she could muster, which, thanks to her transformation, was unnaturally vast. The man flew a few feet in the air and doubled over, coughing up blood. Lucca's chuckling turned into full-blown laughter. When he hit the ground, she placed her foot on his neck, choking him; the act was such a perversion of the human conscience that few in the crowd doubted that Lucca was insane.

The crowd stared in amazement. This massive man had just been taken down in two hits, and the culprit was laughing for no good reason. A woman grabbed her child and walked away; Lucca, upon spotting her, took her foot off the fallen man, gathered fire into her palm until it grew to the size of a cantaloupe, and flung it towards the back of the woman's head, grazing it slightly and barely missed a blue-eyed teenaged boy with shoulder-long hair. It flew past the left side of his face, and left him with the conglomerated expression of bewilderment and terror present in those who have escaped a near-death experience. Women and children gasped, and a few started running, unwilling to fight.

There was silence across the crowd. The blond woman who had spoken after the recently felled blue-haired man took off gazed on with horror, and made eye contact with Lucca; the former's terrified eyes, quivering madly, met the determined gaze of the latter, who's intent to kill was so strong that she couldn't compose herself, and grinned delightfully. The woman tried to run, but her feet were planted on the ground; she tried to make her legs moved, but they refused, and Lucca began walking towards her. The executor formed a sword as she walked towards the woman, and gave a light chuckle before she drove the sword through the woman's stomach.

A number of brave souls ran towards Lucca, confident that the purple-haired girl was less threatening than she seemed and was only picking on the weak. A few certainly tried to be heroic, perhaps to impress their girlfriends, or to protect their families. The first assailant cast an ice spell, conjuring a spike that zoomed at Lucca's stomach. She grabbed it in both hands, securing the frozen water between her palms. Before the attacker knew it, an ice spike was lodged in his side. The blood erupted immediately from the wound, and bathed the grass.

"Mother, we have to stop her!" Schala shouted over the pandemonium assailing the crowd, her face mixed with frustration, compassion, and fear. Lucca had lost it at last, and it was only a matter of time before a catastrophe would arise. Queen Zeal stared at the mayhem absentmindedly, silently brooding over something. She failed to answer, but Schala knew her mother had understood.

"You have to stop her." Queen Zeal whispered, a solemn expression on her face. Schala stared at her mother in disbelief. Was she serious? Zeal knew perfectly well that Lucca was a dangerous weapon when she failed to keep her emotions in check, and this instance was the epitome of this criterion. Schala's pleading blue eyes begged her mother to reconsider, but the monarch seemed to have no intention of changing her mind.

"No, we have to call the guards! M-Maybe if they can restrain her, I can talk some sense into her!" Schala said in frustration, trying to ignore the sound of fleeing people and the groans of bodies being slaughtered by Lucca. She grabbed her mother's arm to add emphasis to her plight, shaking it slightly. Queen Zeal turned to face her daughter, and her face was surprisingly warm. Schala had expected her to be furious, or at least morose. Schala relinquished her grip on Zeal's arm, and felt her mother's hands rest on either side of her face. Their gazes were locked together.

"This is your time to shine, my daughter. Everything I've thought you, everything you've learned up to now; it was all in preparation for this moment. You are the only one who can do this, and you are fully capable of doing so." The Queen said reassuringly, looking into her daughter's eyes for her reaction. Schala averted her gaze, trying in vain to hide her insecurity from the maternal eyes that was boring into her soul.

"Mother…I-I'm afraid…I can't do it…We'll hurt each other, a-and I don't want that…" Schala said, droplets of tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. Queen Zeal released Schala from her hold.

"Fight her, Schala. You'll be glad you did."

Once the number of brave souls had been exhausted, and the scattering nuisances were a considerable distance away, Lucca began randomly hurling fireballs at the large minarets of Enhasa, which was unfortunately the largest, closest, and most immobile object in the vicinity. The anti-magic shield that protected all three cities in the islands flickered as it deflected the blast, before deactivating altogether when a flaming meteor conjured by Lucca struck it. The meteor flew into the eastern palisade of Enhasa, demolishing it. Screams could be heard as the people behind the wall were grilled or crushed, and it only made Lucca grin and laugh wholeheartedly. She would have never thought that killing pathetic Zealians would have been so delightful. It was so amusing how the brave ones tried to not beg for mercy, to hold on to whatever dignity they had left, even though death was around the corner; funnier still was that they saw themselves as godlike when compared to Earthbounds. Oh, but once they were at the bottom of the food chain, everything changed. They groveled like bumbling idiots as Lucca broke their limbs or kicked them into a hard place, and the crunch of their bones echoed their cries of anguish. And it was all so fun, so beautiful.

"Lucca! Stop it this instant!" A voice called from behind. Lucca spun on her heels at the familiar voice, and saw Schala's defiant expression. It was a mixture of anger, frustration, love, bloodlust, all jumbled together to create a countenance foreign to both girls. Lucca was ecstatic. Her best friend was present, and for whatever reason Schala had appeared, it would only add to the drama. The irony was that both girls were in their best clothes; Schala was dressed in an elegant white and blue evening gown, while Lucca wore a gold-embroidered robe of her trademark purple and blue with deep streaks of blood splattered about it.

"Why hello there, Schala. How are you this good day?" Lucca said jubilantly, laughing at her own cheesy accent before turning around and ordering lava to crash into Enhasa's walls, charring the marble. One man had been standing under the point of eruption, and Lucca couldn't help but squeal with glee when his charred and crumpled form blew out of a hole in the city's ceiling. Spectacular.

"This is no time for pleasantries, Lucca. Regardless of how dear you are to me, I won't allow you to harm any more people." Schala roared angrily, yet with considerable stoicism. Lucca had never seen her quite this mad, but she laughed anyway, her mind drowning in a sea of insanity.

"Why don't you talk me out of it? Nonviolence is always much better." Lucca said, halting her laughter but keeping a grin plastered on her face.

"Because the myth says one of us must die, and I would rather not go against it!" Schala shouted defiantly, gathering magic into her palm and shaping it into a sword of ice. Lucca stopped laughing, her eyes widening once Schala finished her powerful statement. She chuckled intermittently before openly laughing once again. There was not an ounce of sanity left in her.

"Sometimes, Schala, you really don't pay attention! And to think I figured this out when I'm obviously much stupider than you are!" Lucca said, giggling. Schala stepped back in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Schala, you are sixteen years old, correct?" Lucca said, forming a sword of flame in her hand, mimicking the Princess' actions.

"Of course, what does that have to do-"

"And I am sixteen, correct?"

"Yes. I don't see where you're-"

"Is it possible for Yvtra and Utrulo to have BOTH lost, so that both had to inhabit a 16 year old being, seeking revenge?" Lucca asked, matter-of-factly. Schala's eyes widened. No, it wasn't possible, because the myth said otherwise. Which means that they shouldn't be fighting each other, since they were both, in the grand scheme of things, losers. _I am so insightful sometimes, _Lucca thought.

"B-but how come we're in this situation? The myth must be wrong, maybe they did both lose!" Schala muttered in disbelief. She had gone on for months believing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she would have to kill Lucca, and the theory was suddenly blasted out of the water. Lucca's logic was infallible, but at the same time, it confounded Schala's very soul. Why would all of this happen just so they could find out they would have nothing to do with each other's downfall?

"Remember, how the myth said that Yvtra and Utrulo are reincarnated every few thousand years? I'm not from this time, Schala. My enemy lives 13000 years after today, and whoever this enemy is, I will have to kill him." Lucca reiterated. Schala's eyes were downcast, her mind a jumbled mess of emotion. So, it was all wrong? There was another undisputable piece of evidence.

Despite Lucca's relative lack of rational thought, she had managed put together a fairly adequate theory of _who_ their enemies were. It was simple, really; Schala's opponent could only be Lavos. After all, Schala had disappeared and been presumed dead after her battle, so that made perfect sense. Likewise, Lavos had always been fairly evil, so the matching personality criterion was met as well. So, Lucca's opponent would have to be a good-hearted person or thing that is not sixteen years old. There were a number of candidates, so she couldn't deduct a clear conclusion yet, but there were so many contenders that she could slaughter easily.

"Buuuut," Lucca said, interrupting her own thoughts to jeer Schala in a singsong voice, "you're going to have to fight me anyway, because if you don't, I'll wipe Enhasa off the map of this worthless place. And you don't want that, do you?" Schala's eyes narrowed, and she gripped her sword tighter. Lucca mimicked her, giggling. Her fingers rested on the magicked hilt, awaiting Schala's attack.

"Lucca…you've really gone off the deep end." The princess muttered, her heart suddenly filled with a fighting spirit.

"Really? Are you serious?" Lucca exclaimed in mock surprise, breaking into a fit of laughter. Schala's expression remained somber and her eyes narrowed. Lucca took this as evidence that the Princess was entirely serious.

"Well then…are you ready?" Lucca asked, grinning slightly and preemptively conjuring a ball of flame in her left hand. Schala nodded and slid into a fighting stance.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you. It wasn't meant to turn out this way." Schala muttered defiantly, clasping her sword so strongly that her knuckles glistened white. Lucca didn't answer, but her eyes turned downcast. A number of guards that been called to the scene were now watching in awe, unsure of what kind of person had the nerve to challenge the Crown Princess.

"Hurt me first." Lucca answered.

The sun disappeared entirely behind the islands, signaling both girls to begin their battle. Lucca dashed forward, swinging her sword in a wide arc, with no intention of actually hitting the target. It had served its purpose of calibration when Schala parried the blow with her own blade, stumbling backwards slightly in the process.

_Looks like Schala isn't quite as strong as I thought, _Lucca said to herself, blocking a stab that came in her direction. Shifting her weight to her left leg, Lucca lunged forward and brought her sword down vertically, barely missing Schala's forehead before the attack was parried by a horizontal slash. _You're cutting it a bit close, my dear Princess. Swordplay isn't your thing._

Schala remained determined. In a series of three slashes, she swung her sword to the left, right, and straight down, adding as much force as she could to the finishing attack of the combination. Lucca blocked the first two, then listlessly stepped to the side as Schala brought her blade down, forcing the Princess to lose her balance. The Princess found a foot impacting her back and sending her to the ground.

A slightly larger crowd had gathered now, and a good half of them gasped when Schala was knocked down. Lucca chuckled, stepping back, and waited for Schala to get back to her feet, a difficult feat considering the force with which Lucca had kicked her. The Princess coughed a bit as she pushed herself to her knees, struggling to return to her feet. Still, her expression remained resolute, and she slid back into her fighting stance.

Lucca threw her sword aside and it burst into flames, reverting to its primal form upon being separated by its conjuror. The ball of flame in her left hand grew to the diameter of a plate, and flew towards the Princess, who erected a deflective shield seconds before the fireball struck her in the chest. Mimicking Lucca's actions, the Princess discarded her weapon before hurtling dozens of ice spikes at her opponent.

_This is heating up very quickly._ Lucca dove to the left, barely dodging the first spike, and melted the second easily. The third flew a millimeter over her head, while the fourth wasn't aimed correctly, and struck the ground a few inches from Lucca. This was so similar to Zeal's training that Lucca performed this with little to no effort. Schala scowled at the ease with which her opponent was dodging her attacks, and charged forward, intent to fight a close-ranged battle, considering Lucca was so infuriatingly fast. Leaping into the air, the Princess formed a sword once more in her right hand, but made entirely of wind this time. Lucca brought her own blade up intent on parrying the blow, but the sword dissipated into a deafening gust of wind that made the Princess' opponent lose her balance. A punch struck Lucca's cheek, and she was sent to the ground.

The crowd cheered loudly as the Princess knocked down her challenger. Stepping away to give Lucca time to get up, Schala grinned slightly, glad that she was such a match for the deranged girl in front of her. Lucca's sword vanished as she got up cumbersomely, but her expression retained that maniacle gleefulness. Without warning, she shot a ball of fire at an innocent bystander; seeing this, Schala countered with her own attack, and successfully dissipated Lucca's. A punch hit her squarely in the stomach.

Lucca had used the fireball as a diversion, and used the opportunity to knock the wind out of the Princess. Once again, the blow was so clean and powerful that Schala was dazed for a few seconds, and still felt the painful sting long after the blow was delivered.

Lucca walked backwards once again, to allow her opponent to recover, and smiled while doing so.

"You're such a monster. Stop bringing these people into this." Schala muttered through several pained breaths. Lucca frowned sternly.

"Don't make me laugh, princess. You know they don't give a shit about you. They were all running when there was no heroine to save them, and now they're enjoying the spectacle." Lucca answered. The crowd was mortifyingly silent, even though they were as much a part of the conversation as Schala or Lucca. By this time, the Princess had gotten to her feet.

"I don't care what they think about me. What's important is that I care for them. If you have any shred of honor left in you, you'll leave them alone," Schala said clearly, forming a sword in her hand once more. She slid into her fighting stance, a miniscule stream of blood flowing from the corner of her mouth onto her white evening dress.

There was silence once again from the crowd. No one dared to move, yet many showed a hint of shame and humility in their somber eyes. "Alright then. Only because I love you more than I love myself, I'll leave them alone," Lucca shouted mockingly. There was a resounding hint of sincerity in her voice, however.

Schala stared at Lucca. The two walked in a wide circle, maintaining their gazes on each other, and for a while, no one attacked. In an instant, Schala flung her palm forward, and released magic that she had inconspicuously been gathering. A flurry of sharp ice needles rushed towards Lucca, and the executor prepared herself to counter the attack.

As Lucca shot a jet of flame towards the spikes, they suddenly flew upwards, avoiding the flames easily, and dispersed in the air, forming a dome over Lucca's head. Simultaneously, the needles speeded towards Lucca's cranium, and clearly, Lucca had no way of parrying the needles. Every single one struck the target, and Lucca looked like a porcupine.

The crowd was silent. Schala had delivered a potentially fatal blow on her enemy, and Lucca stood in the middle of the field, the needles still bored into her skin. Suddenly, without warning, she spontaneously combusted. The crowd gasped in livid surprise, and Schala stared in incredulity at the spot where Lucca had been standing. A red blade tickled Schala's neck.

"It's a nice trick, isn't it?" Lucca whispered, standing behind the Princess and leaning on her. Her sword lay listlessly on Schala's neck, and Lucca lazily let herself be supported by Schala's weight. There was absolute silence.

"W-what…how…?" Schala muttered incredulously. Lucca grinned and hugged the Princess from behind, all the while keeping the blade beside Schala's jugular vein. What resulted would have been a heartfelt moment were it not for the dead bodies lying around and the wanton destruction around Enhasa. Nevertheless, Lucca continued to embrace her friend, and there was little Schala could do with her back turned and the blade so dangerously close to her skin.

Perhaps Lucca was starting to feel remorse, or she had finally spent all of her rage, but she wore a mild, insipid expression. Her eyes glanced around sluggishly, and she looked well at ease with her arms around Schala's neck, despite their voracious battle moments before.

"It's a parlor trick, really. I sucked all the heat out of the air around me, and the supercooled molecules absorbed most of the incoming light as heat instead of reflecting it. Since no light was striking me, I was invisible. Then, I just made a clone standing there, looking stupid." Lucca murmured with little enthusiasm. Finally, she let go of the Princess, and letting her sword drag on the ground, walked away, turned around, and slid into a battle stance. Schala was still astonished by what had just happened, but Lucca's latest display of humanity revived some hope in her.

"Lucca, you don't have to do this! You have control over your own destiny! No god can force you to do anything if you don't allow yourself to succumb!" Schala screamed in obvious emotional anguish. The crowd's eyes turned downcast at the scene before them, and silence lingered. Lucca gripped her sword tighter and yelled,

"You're wrong! It's because of destiny that I have to do this! Because unless I do, I will be cheating the world! We all have a purpose, Schala, and this is mine! Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to stop it!" Lucca yelled back. Schala gazed at her with sadness, and drew her own sword.

Finally, Chapter 15 is finished. 16 might take a while though, unfortunately.


End file.
